


Shattered Roots: A New Dawn

by coolshark



Series: Shattered Roots [1]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Breaking the Warrior Code, Fan Characters, Gen, Original Clans (Warriors), RiverClan (Warriors), ShadowClan (Warriors), SkyClan (Warriors), StarClan (Warriors), ThunderClan (Warriors), WindClan (Warriors)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-01-24 11:35:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18570652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolshark/pseuds/coolshark
Summary: Set in the modern lake territories, the Clans are enjoying an unprecedented era of peace -- but all that is about to change. Secrets long buried begin to come to light, and a new enemy begins stalking the Clan cats even within their own borders. Morningpaw, a brand new apprentice, has nothing but hope for the future. But how long can that last?





	1. Allegiances

**ThunderClan**

**Leader**

Padstar - _scruffy brown tom with one blind eye_

**Deputy**

Floodpool - _large blue-grey she-cat with half a tail_

**Medicine Cat**

Marshtuft - _light grey tom with patches of dark grey and white_

**Warriors**

Greydigger - _grey tom with dark paws_

Rabbitbounce _\- brown she-cat_

    _Apprentice, Mousepaw_

Brambleflower _\- bracken-colored tabby tom_

Moletunnel - _small dark brown tom_

Shimmerclaw - _tough silver she-cat_

Strongheart _\- stocky black tom with a white tail-tip_

Fallface - _strong black-and-white tom with a scarred face_

Rosebud - _russet she-cat with white underbelly_

    _Apprentice, Longpaw_

Flamefox - _bold orange she-cat with darker legs and back_

 _Apprentice,_ _Flashpaw_

**Queens & Kits**

Greeneye - _tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes_

**Apprentices**

Flashpaw - _pale tabby she-cat_

Mousepaw - _skinny dusky brown tom_

Longpaw - _pale brown tabby tom_

**Elders**

Pounceclaw - _russet tom_

Hurriedwater _\- brown and cream tom_

Deepsong - _dark grey she-cat_

 

 **** **SkyClan**

**Leader**

Hickorystar - _grey tabby she-cat with dark legs and yellow eyes_

**Deputy**

Nettlebrush - _rangy grey tom with green eyes_

**Medicine Cat**

Huddlebrook - _-hick-furred short brown tom_

**Warriors**

Robinfrost - _light brown tabby she-cat_

Stonestep - _pale grey tom_

_Apprentice, Nutpaw_

Shiverpelt - _grey and white tabby she-cat_

Rooktail - _black she-cat with white paws_

_Apprentice, Leafpaw_

Foxfall - _orange tabby she-cat_

Aspentail - _white and grey tom with yellow eyes_

Flamestorm - _huge ginger tabby tom_

Thrushflight - _skinny brown tom_

Swiftsong - _pale grey she-cat_

Shadefern - _dilute tortoiseshell, grey and gold_

Sunflash - _cream and brown tom with a short tail_

Hawkeye - _pale gold tabby she-cat_

Blueflame _\- blue-grey tom with white throat_

**Queens & Kits**

Moonface - _black she-cat with white face and throat (mother to_ _Morningkit, a cream-and-black she-cat, Daykit, a grey tom, Duskkit, a tortoiseshell she-cat, and Nightkit, a black tom)_

Twigberry - _russet she-cat with dark paws and tail (mother to I_ _cekit, a white tom, and Brittlekit, a brown-and-white tabby she-cat)_

**Apprentices**

Leafpaw _\- smooth-furred tortoiseshell she-cat_

Nutpaw - _long-limbed, skinny brown tom_

**Elders**

Snowstream - _white she-cat with black tail_

Poppyclaw - _dark ginger tom_

 

 **** **ShadowClan**

**Leader**

Knollstar - _tall black she-cat with white underbelly, muzzle, and paws_

**Deputy**

Mellowbrook - _short white tom_

**Medicine Cat**

Littlefoot - _small ginger tabby tom_

Pinefeather - _brown tabby tom with dark legs_

**Warriors**

Owleye - _dark tabby she-cat with amber eyes_

Thistledown - _grey and white patched she-cat_

Rattail - _dark, thin-furred tom with bare muzzle, legs, underbelly_

Lowbelly - _ginger and white tom_

Marshpelt - _yellow she-cat with half a tail and twisted back leg_

Hissflower - _scruffy yellow tom_

Tanglefur - _dark grey tom with scraggly fur_

Bonetooth - _black and white tom_

Fircone - _dark tabby she-cat_

Needlewhisker - _grey tom_

Snakeskin _\- cream and brown she-cat_

_Apprentice, Ivypaw_

Lazylegs - _long-legged black tom_

Wildriver _\- tufty black she-cat_

**Queens & Kits**

Creepingvine - _striped pale she-cat with dark paws (mother to Turtlekit, a yellow-grey she-cat, and_ _Runningkit, a pale ginger tom)_

Jawstrike - _tortoiseshell she-cat with protruding fangs_

**Apprentices**

Ivypaw - _grey and white she-cat_

**Elders**

Mosswhisker - _pale grey she-cat_

Stumpytail - _sturdy russet tom_

Fallentree - _frail grey tom_

Coldfur - _large white she-cat_

 

 **** **RiverClan**

**Leader**

Hauntstar - _light grey she-cat with striping on face, legs, and tail_

**Deputy**

Dragontail - _huge grey tabby tom_

**Medicine Cat**

Berryleaf - _slender grey she-cat with dark spots_

**Warriors**

Yowlfang - _yellow tom with ragged fur_

Clawsnarl - _sleek cinnamon tom_

Splashpounce - _cream-and-brown she-cat_

Troutleap - _black tom with faint grey stripes_

Reedtooth - _sleek russet tom_

_Apprentice, Finchpaw_

Mudshine - _light brown tabby she-cat_

Mistfur - _silver she-cat_

Rockpelt - _dark grey striped tom_

Garbelly - _fat orange tom with a squashed muzzle_

    _Apprentice, Creampaw_

**Queens & Kits**

Rainstorm - _marble striped grey and brown she-cat (mother to_ _Spiderkit, a cream-and-brown she-cat, Lilykit, a white she-cat, and Cleverkit, a dark grey she-cat)_

Minnowstream - _white and grey she-cat (mother to_ _Lionkit, a golden tom, and Carpkit, a tan tom)_

**Apprentices**

Finchpaw - _brown tabby with a bushy tail_

Creampaw - _off-white tom with brown legs, muzzle, and tail_

**Elders**

Rootsoil - _dark brown tom_

Pebblesplash - _dark ginger tom_

 

 **** **WindClan**

**Leader**

Flystar - _rangy black tom with white spot on chest and one white paw_

**Deputy**

Swiftstripe - _tan tom with bold striping_

**Medicine Cat**

Onionroot - _grizzled grey cat with white chest and tail-tip_

    _Apprentice, Blackpaw_

**Warriors**

Charmpelt - _soft yellow she-cat_

Burntpelt - _black tom with reddish patches_

Moundfur - _brown tom_

Hollowtalk - _lean black tom_

_Apprentice, Ravenpaw_

Kestrelclaw - _reddish-brown she-cat_

    _Apprentice, Tallpaw_

Buzzardwing - _grey-brown thick-furred tom_

Appleleaf - _russet she-cat with small paws_

_Apprentice, Antpaw_

Mountainstone - _yellow-brown tom_

Smokeweed - _ash-grey tom with ragged fur_

Breezefoot - _small striped tom_

_Apprentice, Crowpaw_

Cloudwhisker - _very pale grey she-cat_

**Queens & Kits**

Grassfern - _small brown cat with white paws and chest_

**Apprentices**

Blackpaw - _small grey tom with orange ear, shoulder, and forepaw_

Ravenpaw - _blue-black she-cat with blue eyes_

Crowpaw - _dark grey tom with yellow eyes_

Tallpaw - _black she-cat with white spots_

Antpaw - _sandy brown tom_

**Elders**

Pranceleap - _ginger she-cat_

Crunchclaw - _orange tom with a heavy jaw_

Grasslion - _golden she-cat_

Dogtooth - _scruffy black tom_

 

**Other Cats**

Fennel - _bracken-colored tom_

 


	2. A New Dawn: Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The prologue.

**Shattered Roots**

**A New Dawn: Prologue**

 

It was a bad day for traveling, the cat mused ruefully, pulling itself pawstep after pawstep up the steep ridge. Its paws were streaked with mud, and a deep chill cut through its fur.

The wind carried the last of the cold season off the moors. The wind was damp and heavy as it threw itself into the cat’s face. Any other cat might have turned back to find shelter from the gusts, but the cat only narrowed sharp eyes and pressed forward.

At the top of the ridge, the cat stopped and stared down. Ahead stretched a lonely moor all heather and withered grass, and below that, a wide lake that shimmered in the early twilight. In the dimming light, it was hard to make out all the features of the land, but the cat could make out an imposing set of barns that clung to the edge of the moorlands. Beyond those was a marshy stretch of land on the far shore, complete with what was either a small river or a broad stream. The marshy land stopped at a small Twolegplace, one that the cat recognized as a place where the strange creatures would come and mess about in the water. Clinging to the shore on the other side of the Twolegplace was a piney forest that melted into leafy trees that in turn stopped at the edge of the moorland.

It was a lovely place, and from the scents the now gentler breeze brought, it was clear it was full of cats. More cats than could be counted, and all of them with dreams, hopes, and ambitions. All of them with claws and fangs more than ready to protect the territory they deemed as theirs.

The cat’s eyes gleamed. It was exactly as the loner, a half-starved brown tom, had described. _A huge lake, bigger than you can imagine with a forest and a moor,_ he’d said. _It might seem like good hunting, but you’ll want to steer clear -- the cats that live there are vicious and brutal, and kill any cat that cross their stinking borders._

The cat’s whiskers twitched. “Well, we’ll see about _that,_ ” it murmured as, skirting the pungent border on the moor, it began picking its way down the hill towards the horsey-smelling barn. “We’ll see.”


	3. A New Dawn (Ch. 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet our protaganist, Morningkit.

**Shattered Roots**

**A New Dawn: Chapter 1**

 

_ The ancient trees hung heavy with moss that swayed gently with the wind. Tiny motes detached from the moss and floated in the breeze, eventually coming to rest on the soft branches of the trees, or among the thick swathes of ferns that decorated the forest floor, or even further down, on the thick bedding of moss that hid the earth from view and even now masked the sound of the hunter's approach. _

_ One careful paw after another, she pressed forward on the trail. In other circumstances, the dampness of the moss beneath her paws might have bothered her. Certainly the way the dew dripped from the trees to mingle with the fur on her back would have brought a growl out of her in better times, but she had been walking all day and night, and save for the brief rainstorm that had managed to miss her, she had not even touched a fresh breeze until she had reached this forest. Her aching paw pads and scorched ears could not have more loudly sung the praises of this damp and cool forest. _

_ A mouse skittered through the moss and paused to nibble a seed beneath an overhanging fern. It was a plump, fat creature, easy prey, but she ignored it. Much more important prey was on her mind. Its fear-scent, sour and harsh, hung in her nostrils, and now she could even see the dark, indistinct shape ahead as it slunk from one clump of ferns from another. _

_ Occasionally it looked back, eyes wide and fearful, but it never saw her. It was right to fear, this prey, but it had no thought of fearing her. How could it, when she was so stealthy it was as though she were invisible? _

_ The dark shape paused beneath a tree, just below a low-hanging branch. That gave the hunter an idea. Her claws gripped the soft, spicy-smelling bark of the tree she crouched behind, and then her strong hind legs were pushing her up the trunk in quick, graceful bounds, as quiet as a whisper. _

_ When she pulled her way into the branches, she saw the prey was on the move again. She wasn't worried. This time, she followed from the branches easily stepping or leaping from one massive tree to the next. Her prey, striding more and more confidently below, looked ahead, and behind, carefully vigilant. But never up. It never looked up. What a foolish creature. _

_ Finally, the dark shape came to rest, only trembling a little bit. Its ears twitched- listening, she realized, for any noise of pursuit. Unfortunately for her prey, the hunter  made no sound, even as she padded out onto the branch that hung directly over her prey's head, only a mere few fox-lengths up. She paused for a moment, quietly watching the sinuous black shape as it yawned and stretched below. Then she dropped. _

_ Claws extended and teeth bared, she fell towards her prey. The wind whistled in her ears and her aching muscles sang with exultation. Finally, she had done it. She had caught up to her prey. _

_ Though she made no noise, the dark head of the creature turned suddenly to fix her in a piercingly green gaze. Its eyes stretched wide with horror, and even though it scrabbled to escape, she knew there would be no such option. Her quarry had to die. _

_ Even if it was another cat. _

 

Something heavy thumped into Morningkit’s side, driving all the breath out of her body. “Hey!” she gasped. 

“Sorry, Morningkit,” a deep mew rasped. “Didn’t mean to wake you there, but as you can tell, I’m a bit -- oof!” The large grey and white tom staggered to the other side of the nursery as a large grey kit leaped onto his back. “Preoccupied.”

“Die, ThunderClan!” the grey tom kit yowled. “SkyClan forever!” Daykit, Morningkit’s largest and boldest littermate. He did whatever he liked and didn’t let anyone tell him otherwise. 

Morningkit’s whiskers twitched in amusement as she watched a black-and-orange flurry of fur and claws pounce on the warrior’s striped tail. Duskkit, her only sister and with the sharpest tongue in the litter. 

She scanned the nursery for Nightkit and found him crouched in the darkest corner, where his black fur melted perfectly into the shadows. As she watched, he drew himself forward, slid beneath the warrior’s belly, and began pummeling him with quick back paws. 

Not to be left out of the game, Morningkit reared onto her back paws and batted at the warrior’s face. “ThunderClan are invading the nursery!” she declared. “We have to stop him!”

Twigberry, the newest queen in the nursery and mother to two suckling kits, flattened her ears and sighed, “ _ Please,  _ Aspentail, if you  _ must  _ bother with the older kits, play with them  _ outside  _ the nursery. They’re all so…” she wrinkled her muzzle. “Apprentice-like.” 

The grey-and-white warrior, nearly buried beneath the pelts of Morningkit’s littermates, managed to lift his head. “You heard her,” he mewed. “Let’s go, fierce SkyClan warriors.” 

“Drive him out!” Daykit yowled, and between him, Nightkit, and Duskkit, they bundled Aspentail out of the nursery and into camp. 

Morningkit made to follow, but as her paws sank into the deep moss that lined the nursery, the memory of her dream flashed back in her mind, as vivid as though she’d just lived it. Startled, she blinked and stepped back, but to her dismay found herself stepping on something far too warm to be moss. 

The kit she’d stepped on opened his tiny jaws and let out a wail. 

Morningkit gasped. “Oh no! Icekit, I’m so sorry!” She bent her head to nuzzle the white kit, but Twigberry reached out a firm paw and pushed her away. 

“That’s enough. Go play outside now,” she mewed firmly, before bending her own head to give Icekit a few brisk licks. “There we are, you’re alright,” she murmured.

Morningkit watched as Twigberry comforted her kit, then hesitantly backed out of the nursery. How could she have hurt Icekit like that? Her thoughts drifted from Icekit to the cat she’d attacked in her dream. A black cat, much like Nightkit. But she could never hurt her own brother, could she? No, never.  _ Maybe a dream is just a dream?  _ she hoped. Certainly she hoped it wasn’t a sign from StarClan. Only medicine cats received signs, and while a life if healing wounds and reading omens might be fine for some, it certainly wasn’t the life Morningkit had in mind for herself. First, she had to be a warrior apprentice, and before that… 

She fixed her eyes on Aspentail, standing in the middle of camp. Most warriors wouldn’t give kits the time of day, but Aspentail always made the time to play with an tell stories to SkyClan’s kits. He’d spent time with Leafpaw and Nutpaw before the two of them had become apprentices, and now he had nothing but time for Morningkit and her littermates. 

She watched as he swept her three littermates away from him with a growl. At first she worried they’d done something to make him mad, but she saw the playful light in his eye, and his mew wasn’t too serious when he declared, “Silly SkyClan worms, don’t you know  _ ThunderClan  _ rules the lake? We’re going to… eat all your kits, and turn your fresh-kill pile into our new dirtplace.” 

“No!” Daykit wailed. He flung himself into Aspentail’s shoulder and hung on. “Take that!”

“And this!” Duskkit wrapped herself around one of his hind legs. 

Aspentail fake-growled, and lashed his tail, then shook off Daykit like he would a mouse. Quick as a flash, he pinned him with his forepaws. “Say, you’re a kit, aren’t you? How about I eat  _ you? _ ”

With a shriek of pretend-terror, Daykit ripped himself free of Aspentail’s grip and pelted for the other side of camp, vanishing behind the elder’s den. The grey-and-white warrior made as if to chase him, but with Duskkit attached to his leg and Nightkit flinging himself onto his back, he wasn’t making much progress. Morningkit bushed up her tail and rushed in to help, slamming into the large warrior with enough force to knock him down completely. 

She held her paws on his neck. “Give up, ThunderClan sparrow-heart!”

Aspentail flailed his paws weakly. “Okay, okay, I give up. I’ll do whatever you say.” 

Morningkit thought for a moment. “Okay… you have to say SkyClan is the best Clan, and… that you’re upset you can’t climb like us, and…”

Duskkit narrowed her eyes. “And make him promise to be our servant forever!”

“Yeah, be our servant forever!”

“Alright, alright, SkyClan’s the best. They deserve to have  _ all  _ the Clans be their servants,” Aspentail declared. 

“That’s more like it,” Morningkit mewed, doing her best to sound as regal as Hickorystar, SkyClan’s leader and the most impressive cat she knew of. 

Aspentail shook out his pelt. “Are any of you hungry?” he mewed. “There’s plenty on the fresh-kill pile, and patrols are due to come back soon.” 

“I’m not hungry,” Nightkit mewed quietly. 

“I’m not either,” meowed Duskkit. “You know what I want? A story from the elders.”

Nightkit tilted his head to the side. “Like about the time the lake flooded?”

“Or about the time StarClan vanished?” Morningkit offered. 

Duskkit’s eyes gleamed. “More like about the last Gathering. Leafpaw told me ThunderClan started a fight!”

Aspentail whisked his striped tail over their ears. “Hey, you know Hickorystar doesn’t like anyone spreading gossip about the other Clans.” His voice lowered conspiratorially. “But if you really want to know, Padstar accused Windclan of stealing prey and then tried to claw Flystar's ears off. Snowstream was there- if you bring her a bird she'll probably tell you all about it."

With a mew of delight, Duskkit broke off, racing for the fresh-kill pile. Nightkit thought about it a moment, then followed her, and carrying a small bird each, the two of them set off for the elder’s den. That left Morningkit sitting a few paces away from Aspentail. 

He blinked at her. “Don’t you want to hear the story?”

She shrugged. “I guess? Not really. It’s just, um…” Her thoughts flashed back to her dream, and she shivered. “Have you seen Sunflash? Or Moonface?” As she gazed around camp, she saw several familiar pelts lazing in the sun, but those of her mother and father definitely weren’t in sight. 

Aspentail stood, the tip of his tail twitching and yellow eyes narrowed as he thought about it. “Well,” he mewed slowly, “I know Sunflash is on a hunting patrol, and I  _ think  _ Moonface went on a walk, but she could have gone hunting too. Didn’t she say something to you?”

“I was sleeping,” Morningkit replied. 

“Ah, right. Well, I’m sure they’ll be back soon. Want to share a mouse with me as you wait?”

“I’m not-” she began, but a growl from her own stomach betrayed her. With a purr of amusement, she amended, “Maybe I’m a  _ little  _ hungry.”

“Thought you might be. I’m clever like that, see?” Aspentail pulled a mouse from the pile of prey, and between the two of them they quickly finished it off. The larger warrior stretched his jaws in a yawn. “I think I’ll take a nap. Nettlebrush wants me to lad a patrol this evening, so I need to get what rest I can.” He rose to his paws, stretched, and began to pad towards the warriors’ den.

Morningkit frowned and half-rose to her paws. “But what should I do?”

Aspentail paused just before slipping beneath the branches of the massive hawthorn bush that made up the warriors’ den. “You could join your littermates and listen to the elders’ stories,” he offered. “Or you could help Huddlebrook in the medicine den, or put burrs in Nettlebrush’s nest.” His whiskers twitched at the last suggestion.

Morningkit pricked her ears. “Well, alright,” she mewed slowly.

“Don’t tell anyone I suggested it!” he warned as he slipped into the den. 

But she had no intentions of putting burrs in the Clan deputy’s den. Instead, she made for the pair of boulders that obscured the medicine den from view and poked her head inside. “Huddlebrook?”

The SkyClan medicine cat was too busy sorting herbs to notice her, but when she called his name again, he lifted his head. His amber eyes glinted warmly in the dappled light of the medicine den. “Oh, Morningkit, hello! What can I do for you? Did you step on a thorn?”

“No, I’m fine, see?” To prove it, she bounced on all four paws. 

“Glad to hear it!” he purred. He was past his prime, and his purr was a little rusty, but he still moved with an easy grace and strength as he moved to greet her. “So did you just come to say hello, or to help out?” 

“Neither. Well, sorry, that’s rude. Hello!” She touched noses with him, then backed away a few steps. “It’s just…” she began. “I… had a dream?”

“All cats have dreams,” he meowed, turning away to sort through more leaves.

“But this was a  _ weird  _ dream,” she insisted.

"Well then." Huddlebrook rested his paw on one pile of leaves. "Here, while you tell me all about it, you can help with this dock. You'll want to take out all the shriveled or wilted leaves. They're not as good as the fresh ones, and since it’s newleaf now, we can afford to throw them out." He hooked a claw into a limp, withered leaf. "Like this, see? Throw them aside, away from the others."

Morningkit began pawing though the leaves. As she did, she mewed slowly, “The dream was… I was hunting a cat through the forest, but I thought the cat was  _ prey.  _ And then I climbed a tree and jumped on him and killed him. It felt so  _ real,  _ like I was really there, not like my usual dreams. And…” She hesitated. “The cat looked kind of like Nightkit, sort of. What if it’s a sign from StarClan? It can’t be, right? I would  _ never  _ hurt Nightkit,” she mewed firmly. She hooked out another leaf and threw it aside.

“I don’t suspect you would,” Huddlebrook mewed pleasantly. “Well, it sounds to me like it could just be a vivid dream, though if you have any more like it, you might want to let me know. If it’s a sign from StarClan, the medicine cat should know, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, but…” she scuffed her paws on the ground. “If it  _ is  _ a dream from StarClan, does that mean I’d have to be a medicine cat?”

Huddlebrook blinked at her patiently. “I know  _ I  _ would never make you be a medicine cat if you didn’t want to be. If you want to be a warrior, be a warrior!” 

“It’s not that it’s a bad job, I just can’t stand the thought of looking at hurt cats all day. It sounds a lot more stressful than hunting.” She stared at him earnestly. She couldn’t let the medicine cat think that she thought he had a bad job. “It’s a  _ very  _ important job.”

“Some days I think it is. Other days I have little to do but sort herbs.” He purred. “But it’s very rewarding work. I’m certain that if you  _ wanted,  _ you could be a very fine medicine cat indeed. But you want to be a warrior?”

She purred back. “Yeah! I want to be the best warrior in the Clan.” 

“And that’s a very noble goal. Here, help me sort this burdock root next, won’t you?”

They sorted through plants in silence for a few moments before Morningkit asked,  _ “ _ You’re sure it’s just a dream?”

The medicine cat rolled his eyes. “Sometimes a dream _ is _ just a dream, even if it is rather odd. I remember when I was nearly an apprentice, I had a dream about fighting off a badger all by myself. Woke up in the morning  _ sure _ I was meant to be a warrior, but I realized immediately after being apprenticed that I was wrong. You can imagine Hickorystar's face when I asked for the switch. She'd just been made leader then and still wasn't sure how everything should go."

Morningkit purred with amusement. It was hard to imagine Hickorystar being unsure about  _ anything.  _ She always knew what to do! Not to mention imagining Huddlebrook as anything but a wise, friendly medicine cat. He’d have been a  _ terrible  _ warrior, she was sure, but he made a very fine medicine cat. 

Voices and pawsteps of returning cats sounded in the camp. A moment later, the mouthwatering scents of mice and birds hit her, and she rose to her paws. "The hunting patrol is back!" she mewed with delight. And with it, her father!

Huddlebrook's eyes gleamed. "Finally. I've been waiting all morning for something fresh. I'll go with you." The two of them left the medicine den, stepping into the dappled sunlight of the clearing.

The milling cats of the hunting patrol each dropped off their prey, then headed off, either to the dens, to warm patches of sunlight, or back into the forest. One of them, a large orange tom, limped towards the medicine den, holding one of of his paws at an odd angle. Huddlebrook sighed. He paused only a moment to grab a thrush from the pile, then turned and trotted quickly back to the medicine den.

Morningkit raced towards a large, cream-colored tom with a short dark tail and dark ears, paws, and a face to match. “Sunflash!” she squealed. “You’re back!” 

Sunflash broke into a throaty purr when he saw her coming. “Morningkit, look what I caught especially for you!” He dragged a huge black-and-white bird from the pile. 

Her jaw fell open. “A whole magpie? Wow!” The half a mouse in her belly reminded her that she’d already eaten, but she ignored it. Mouse was nothing compared to  _ magpie.  _ The black and white bird had always been her favourite. 

Sunflash gazed around camp. “Where are your littermates? I know they’ll want to share it with you.”

She thought for a moment. “Well, Nightkit and Duskkit are in the elders’ den listening to a story, and Daykit…” she shrugged. “I don’t know where Daykit is, actually. Probably putting burrs in Nettlebrush’s nest.”

“That does sound like him,” Sunflash mewed ruefully. “Do you know if anyone else has seen him?”

“No, sorry.” She crouched to take a bite of the magpie. As always, the flavors sang on her tongue. Magpie was always a special piece of prey. She wished she could eat it every day. 

Sunflash crouched beside her and helped himself to a mouthful. “I hope he hasn’t snuck out of camp again.” 

Morningkit’s eyes widened. “He wouldn’t!” 

He smoothed the fur on her head with a rasp of his tongue. “ _ You  _ wouldn’t. Your littermates are another story.”

They ate in silence for a while. Morningkit simply enjoyed her father’s presence. He was such a fine cat, no matter what the others said - and the others  _ did  _ have things to say about it. 

Sunflash had been a kittypet, a cat that chose to live in Twoleg nests and be pampered by them, but one day, after meeting a SkyClan patrol by the Twolegplace, he’d asked to join them, and it was with some reluctance that Hickorystar had said he could try out the life of a warrior. It had been a good move. Morningkit knew he was one of the best warriors in the Clan, a fantastic hunter and a skillful hunter that never let himself tire. She was proud to have him as her father, and proud to look like so much him, even if her dark spots were darker and her toes were white.

Shadefern, the she-cat guarding the entrance of camp, suddenly growled. “What do you think you’re doing here?” 

At once, every warrior in camp raised their heads and watched as an angry Moonface, nudging Daykit ahead of her, strode into camp. Behind her marched three cats Morningkit didn’t recognize, but their scent was familiar. She recognized it from a moon or two ago, when one of the neighboring medicine cats had come to ask for herbs. ShadowClan!

Sunflash stared for just a moment before turning and springing for the Tallrock, the huge lichen-encrusted boulder in the center of the clearing that Hickorystar would stand on to address the Clan. A split in the bottom of the boulder was where Hickorystar made her den, and in moments Sunflash returned with both her and Nettlebrush in tow. 

The Clan leader took in the situation in an instant, eyes darting from Moonface and Daykit to the rangy yellow tom that stood at the head of the ShadowClan cats. “Hissflower,” she greeted coolly. “Greetings. Can I assume there’s a good explanation for you marching two of my cats into my own camp?” 

Hissflower bared a set of gleaming fangs. “I’ll give you a good explanation,” he growled. “We found  _ these  _ two wandering around on  _ our  _ side of the border.”

Moonface flattened her ears. “ _ I  _ was only trying to retrieve my son!” 

Daykit scuffed his paws on the ground and said nothing. Moonface glared at him.

“Maybe you should keep better track of him,” Hissflower retorted. “This is the  _ third  _ time we’ve found your toad-brained kit on our territory, and we’re tired of taking him home.”

“You’d think he wanted to move in at this rate!” another ShadowClan cat sneered. 

“Maybe next time we won’t give him back.” Hissflower lashed his tail. 

Moonface opened her jaws to reply, but Hickorystar silenced her with a look. To the ShadowClan cats, the SkyClan leader mewed, “Thank you for escorting my cats home. I can assure you I’ll have them properly punished from trespassing on your land.” 

“Good,” Hissflower meowed. “We really should have clawed his ears off, but unlike  _ certain  _ cats, we ShadowClan cats don’t attack helpless kits.”

"That," Hickorystar said calmly, "was a misunderstanding, and you know it."

"Oh, a misunderstanding, was it?" A dark-furred warrior growled. 

Sunflash jumped forward. "Are you calling my leader a liar?" he spat.

"Don't reckon I asked for your opinion,  _ kittypet _ ," the ShadowClan warrior growled.

Sunflash curled his lip. His pelt bristled. 

A flash of movement from the elders’ den. Morningkit caught a glimpse of Nightkit, Duskkit, and the two elders peering out, watching silently as tensions rose.

Other SkyClan cats began to move forward, growls bubbling in their own throats, but Hickorystar waved her tail and meowed again in a loud voice, “Thank you for escorting my cats home. Now I’ll thank you some more to leave. Give my regards to Knollstar.”

Hissflower stared at the SkyClan cats for a moment, then flicked his tail, gesturing the the camp entrance. "Very well. We're going. But not one more kit over the border, or ShadowClan will have something to say about it!"

Hickorystar dipped her head. "Of course. No kits over the border."

The ShadowClan cats left, and Hickorystar fixed her gaze on Daykit, who was crouched between Moonface’s legs. “What  _ am  _ I going to do with you?” she mused. 

Moonface narrowed her green eyes. “If you ask me, you should delay his apprenticeship for a moon. That might teach him.” As she spoke, she bent her head and lapped at Daypaw’s fur, taking much of the sting out of her words.

Nonetheless, Daykit’s eyes stretched wide. “No, you can’t!” he begged. 

Sunflash snorted. “What, and give him  _ more  _ time to make a nuisance of himself?” His words were harsh, but his mew was kind.

Nettlebrush stepped forward on light paws. He had wisely chosen to stay out of the bickering earlier, but now he strode to Hickorystar's side and murmured a few words to her. She nodded, intrigued. "Good idea."

Nettlebrush flicked an ear. "It's not quite six moons, but close enough, I think. And this way, ShadowClan can properly claw off Daykit's ears if he strays over the border."

Morningkit's eyes widened. "You're not banishing him, are you?" she squeaked.

Nettlebrush gave her an odd look. "'Course not."

From where he had flattened himself on the ground, Daykit visibly relaxed. "Whew."

Morningpaw stood up. "So... what are you doing?”

Hickorystar looked at Daykit gravely. "You and your littermates have done nothing but get in trouble for the last moon. So, Nettlebrush and I are in agreement about what should be done to you."

Daykit trembled, and though she wasn’t the one in trouble, Morningkit trembled too. What would Hickorystar do? She felt more than saw Duskkit and Nightkit’s eyes fixed on her, and could feel their curious apprehension as easily as her own.

"It's about time you four were made apprentices."


	4. A New Dawn (Ch. 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morningkit becomes an apprentice.

**Shattered Roots**

**A New Dawn: Chapter 2**

 

Morningkit wriggled beneath her mother's rough tongue. "Moonface, stop it! My fur is fine!"

Moonface gazed back at her with eyes full of pride. “Of course you are, dear, but you’re all being made apprentices! You have to look your best -- Daykit,  _ how  _  did you get all those thistles in your fur?” She turned on one paw and in a single bound was at Daykit’s side, smothering him in rough licks. Sunflash was no better, and Morningkit had to duck more than once to avoid his well-meant grooming.

Morningkit sat herself beside Duskkit, who’d taken care of her own grooming, thank you very much and now her black and ginger fur gleamed in the sun. Nightkit was nowhere in sight, wisely having chosen to hide himself from their parents’ line of sight.

It wasn’t quite sunhigh yet, but Morningkit thought that if she had to wait a moment longer for the ceremony she’d jump out of her fur. To distract herself, she turned to Duskkit and whispered, “Who do you think your mentor will be?”

Duskkit sighed dramatically. “ _ Anyone  _ but Thrushflight. He’s so jumpy I think a caterpillar would startle him!”

“Didn’t you bite his tail when he was sleeping?” 

“Yes, and he jumped so high I’m surprised he came back down!” Duskkit snorted at her own joke. 

Morningkit craned her head and spotted the skinny brown warrior. He seemed a little anxious, but  _ she  _ was a little anxious too. Who  _ would  _ be her mentor? Would they get along well? Robinfrost? The older warrior was always kind. Perhaps Aspentail, who spent spare moments entertaining kits in the nursery, or maybe Foxfall, cunning and clever? There were many cats who she knew would be great mentors with her. Others she eyed more doubtfully. Thrushflight, for example. He didn’t seem to like being around the younger cats, and Duskkit was probably right that he was too on edge to be trusted with an apprentice.  Morningkit had snuck up on him once and he'd nearly dropped dead on the spot out of fear. 

She was so busy wondering that she nearly jolted out of her skin with surprise when she heard Hickorystar yowl, “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Tallrock for a Clan meeting!” 

Most of the warriors were already gathered loosely in camp, but at Hickorystar’s words a few stragglers emerged, yawning, from their dens, and Flamestorm, a massive orange tom, limped from the medicine den with an exasperated Huddlebrook following behind. “Your paw is barely scratched!” the medicine cat mewed, then took his place in the ragged circle forming around the Tallrock. 

Morningkit spotted Leafpaw and Nutpaw, seated beside their mentors, Stonestep and Rooktail. The older apprentices seemed bored and nearly disdainful, but even that couldn’t quell Morningkit’s excitement.  _ Soon I’ll be an apprentice too! _

Nightkit slid up beside her, his green eyes and sleek pelt betraying nothing. He gave her a nod, then licked one of his paws and drew it over his ear, a quick little gesture. “I’ll be Nightpaw by the end of the day,” he mewed quietly.

Morningkit quivered with anticipation. For a long moment Hickorystar gazed at her Clan, and then she opened her jaws and mewed, “Sunflash, Moonface, if you would? I promise that Daykit looks fine.”

Looking just a tad embarrassed, Moonface and Sunflash drew back. Moonface took a seat beside Rooktail, her littermate, and Sunflash as always stayed close by her side. A much-relieved Daykit shook out his pelt and sat next to Duskkit, chin held high.

Hickorystar twitched her tail, refusing to speak until the whole Clan quieted. "Cats of SkyClan,” she began, “Moonface’s kits are nearly six moons old and for the sake of all of us, it is time we made them apprentices.” Purrs of amusement rang through the gathered cats as Hickorystar bounded from the Tallrock and beckoned to Nightkit with her tail. “Nightkit, step forward.” 

With only the barest hesitation, Nightkit padded forward until he was standing in front of the Clan leader. She rested her tail on his shoulder. 

“From this day forward, until he earns his warrior name, this apprentice shall be known as Nightpaw. Hawkeye, you are an intelligent and understanding cat, and I trust you will pass on these qualities to Nightpaw as you mentor him.” Hickorystar swished her tail, encouraging Nightpaw to go to the pale tabby she-cat waiting at the edge of the circle of cats. 

Hawkeye didn’t seem surprised, but Morningkit thought she saw a flicker of pride in her eyes. As one of the Clan’s youngest warriors, this would be her first apprentice. Of course she was proud to be chosen as mentor. 

Nightpaw blinked, then turned and padded towards Hawkeye. He hesitated another moment, regarding her with all the quiet seriousness she in turn offered him, and then stretched up to touch noses with her. 

“I’ll teach you well,” Hawkeye murmured. 

“Nightpaw! Nightpaw!” the SkyClan cats yowled.

And then Hickorystar’s gaze was fixed on Morningkit and she was beckoning her closer. 

Morningkit swallowed hard and on trembling legs stepped towards her leader. Now every cat’s eyes were on  _ her,  _ and she didn’t know what to do. Surely she should say something? “Er… hi.” Her voice was more of a squeak than a mew. 

Several cats tittered, but Hickorystar ignored them. She laid her tail on Morningkit’s shoulder. “Aspentail, you are a spirited and resourceful warrior, and you taught Flamestorm well. You are ready for another apprentice, and I expect you to train Morningpaw well in turn.”

For a moment, Morningpaw forgot to be nervous. Aspentail had been one of her top choices! He’d be a great mentor. She caught his delighted gaze from across the circle of cats; he seemed just as pleased as her! 

Her fluffy tail high, she bounded to meet him. He bent his head, and Morningpaw eagerly reached up to touch noses with him. She jumped back with a start as the touch became a painful bump. Too eager.

“Sorry!” she whispered below the sound of cats calling her name.

“It’s fine,” he replied, a little ruefully. “I remember my own apprentice ceremony. Now let’s give your littermates their turn.”

Well, the worst was over. Morningpaw watched brightly as Duskkit stepped forward to receive her mentor. “Duskpaw, your mentor shall be Nettlebrush.”

“ _ What? _ ” Nettlebrush exclaimed, jerking himself to his paws. “I wasn’t informed of this.”

"I know," Hickorystar meowed. "Because if I told you, you would have argued with me. Nettlebrush, you have served as a faithful deputy for many moons. You have shown yourself to be loyal and honest, and I trust you will pass down these qualities to Duskpaw, your apprentice." Her mew hardened just slightly on the last words, allowing no chance for argument.

Nettlebrush eyed Duskpaw carefully, then sighed and gave a brisk nod. "Very well." He touched noses with Duskpaw.

“Duskpaw! Duskpaw!”

“They’ll be quite the pair,” Aspentail whispered wryly. “I can picture it now: arguments from dawn ‘til moonhigh!”

Morningpaw stifled a purr. 

Finally, Hickorystar gave Daykit a long look. "From this day on," she mewed, "you shall be known as Daypaw. Your mentor will be Shiverpelt, and I hope for the sake of SkyClan that she teaches you all she knows." She narrowed her eyes. " _ Please _ learn."

Daypaw ducked his head in a manner that suggested no promises.

"Shiverpelt." Hickorystar nodded to the apprehensive grey she-cat. "You were born into one of the harshest winters SkyClan has ever seen. I know we all mourn the losses of Tremblekit and Chillkit. But you and Huddlebrook came out stronger for your early days, and I trust you to pass on your tenacity and honor to your apprentice."

The older grey warrior seemed apprehensive, but touched noses with Daypaw all the same. 

“Daypaw!” the Clan called.

“This will be her last apprentice,” Aspentail whispered. “Shiverpelt is getting on in years, you know.”

Morningkit blinked. “Shouldn’t Huddlebrook get an apprentice too?” she whispered back.

“Well, he’s a medicine cat, so it’s not so bad for him. The life of a warrior is much more strenuous.”

With new knowledge (already!) in her head, Morningpaw gazed around at her Clan. They were all so faithful, so supportive, so loyal! Her parents were kind, her mentor perfectly suited to teach her, and she knew she was nothing but ready to learn.  _ I’m going to be the best apprentice in SkyClan!  _ she thought, already picturing long nights in the apprentice den, going over what she’d learned with her littermates -- and maybe Leafpaw and Nutpaw would pay attention to her now too, now that she was one of them.

She blinked at Aspentail eagerly. “What do we do first?”

His tail switched from side to side as he thought. “Well, I  _ could  _ make you change all the bedding in the camp-” he began teasingly. 

“No, you can’t,” Nettlebrush snapped. He jerked his head towards Daypaw.  _ “He’s  _ going to.” 

Daypaw’s mouth fell open. “What? That’s not fair!”

“I’d say it’s perfectly fair,” Hickorystar mewed calmly as she strode forward. She fixed Daypaw in a chilling stare. “You just snuck out of camp for the third time in a moon. Consider this a light punishment.”

"But-"

Nettlebrush hissed. "Don't talk back to your leader. Especially when she's right. And you won't be sleeping until it's done, either!" In a calmer tone, he told Shiverpelt, "You'll have to show him how to do it, but don't feel obligated to help any more than you have to."

Daypaw grumbled and scuffed his claws through the dirt, but didn't say anything more.

"Come on," Shiverpelt told him, "I'll show you where to gather moss." She nudged him with her snout towards the nursery. “We’ll start there, since you and your littermates have just left.”

The words sent a thrill through Morningpaw’s fur. That was right, tonight she’d be sleeping in the apprentice’s den! She could hardly wait. But first-

She blinked up at Aspentail expectantly. 

“We can go on a tour of the territory,” he decided. “Your littermates can come too, if you want. Well, Duskpaw and Nightpaw can. I expect Daypaw will be busy for a while.” As he spoke, a sour-looking Daypaw began rolling a ball of dirty moss from the nursery. Aspentail’s whiskers twitched with amusement. “Ah, you have admirers. I’ll speak to Nettlebrush for a moment while you sort them out.” He stepped briskly towards the deputy. 

Morningpaw found herself face to face with both her parents. 

Sunflash’s short tail stood straight up. “You’re going to be a fantastic apprentice!” he declared. 

Moonface began licking Morningpaw’s face fiercely. “You’re growing up so quickly. We’re both so proud of you! Oh, you’ll be getting your warrior name in no time at all.” 

“And then her own apprentice, with luck!” Wonder hung in Sunflash’s mew. “Oh, Duskpaw, look at you!” He bounded to greet his other daughter, and Moonface was quick to follow. 

Morningpaw was glad for the reprieve. While she shied away from so much attention, Duskpaw seemed to relish it, drinking in all their compliments and praise. 

Aspentail returned a moment later with Nettlebrush at his side. “Seems Hakweye and Nightpaw went out by themselves already, so it’ll just be you, me, Duskpaw, and Nettlebrush. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure to slow down for the older cats in the group,” he joked, flicking his tail over the deputy’s ears. 

Nettlebrush rolled his eyes. “Oh, this is going to be  _ fun, _ ” he meowed sarcastically. “Well, let’s go.” He beckoned to Duskpaw with his tail. Sunflash and Moonface seemed so downcast that Nettlebrush growled, “Why don’t you two make yourselves useful? Take out a hunting patrol and bring back some prey. We’ll have some hungry apprentices when we get back to camp.”

Sunflash and Moonface exchanged a glance. “We might as well,” Moonface mewed. 

“It’s been so long since we’ve hunted together,” Sunflash agreed. Pelts brushing, they trotted to the bramble tunnel that led out of camp.

Nettlebrush waited until they were well gone, then led Aspentail, Morningpaw, and Duskpaw out of camp. “We’ll walk around the borders first,” he decided. “It’s important you apprentices know where  _ not  _ to go.” 

“And here I was hoping he’d lead us right into ThunderClan,” quipped Duskpaw, earning an amused purr from Morningpaw and even a snort from Aspentail. 

Nettlebrush gave her a hard look. 

Aspentail raised his tail. “If it’s not too much to ask, can we start with the lakeshore? I’m sure these two would love to see it.” 

“Very well.” Nettlebrush led the way, first walking, then trotting, then slipping into a run, all downhill, through twists and turns in the undergrowth, so fast that Morningpaw didn’t know how she’d possibly keep pace. Her legs were so much shorter than his. Luckily, Aspentail slowed himself to stay beside her. 

“Move at your own pace,” he told her. 

It took a few stumbles, but Morningpaw found her paws eventually. It wasn’t so hard to mind her way now, though the occasional twig whipped her face, and every so often she stepped on something sharp. The forest was in the middle of a bright, crisp newleaf. New plants poked through the soil, birds twittered in the trees above, and the rich scents of prey greeted her so she felt compelled to stop and follow them. But every time she paused, Aspentail was there, reminding her why they were there and nudging her forward. How Duskpaw kept up when Nettlebrush didn’t spare so much as a glance to make sure she was following, Morningpaw couldn’t say.

But it was all worth it when, with a final bound, she cleared the last of the brush and stood, panting, at the edge of a vast expanse. The lake.

“Wow,” she breathed. 

Even Duskpaw seemed at a loss for words. “That’s… pretty impressive,” she finally managed. 

Morningpaw padded forward until there was only a whisker length between her and the water. Hesitantly, she dabbed at it with her paw. “It’s cold!” she mewed. 

“It  _ is  _ water,” Aspentail mewed as he stepped forward to join her. He nodded out across the lake. “You can just see the other side, can’t you?” 

Morningpaw squinted. There, against the horizon, a dark smudge of land against the vast stretch of water. “I can!”

“Directly across from us is the Gathering island where all the Clans go to meet,” he continued. “It’s a great island. There’s trees for climbing, and prey to hunt if you want, and sometimes you can find neat things that wash up on the shore! Bits of Twoleg junk, usually, but sometimes there’s interesting stones or feathers. Mind you, the RiverClan cats usually lay claim to those.” 

“Why?” 

He tilted his head. “Why what?” 

“Why do they take the things?” 

Aspentail considered that. “I suppose they think they’re pretty. RiverClan cats are like that, you know. Sleek and fat and always dragging shiny things back to their camp for whatever reason. I don’t understand it myself, but  _ that  _ is why I’m not a RiverClan cat!” 

“RiverClan cats are vain creatures,” Nettlebrush observed dryly. 

Duskpaw batted a small stone into the water. “So which way is ShadowClan?” she mewed. 

Nettlebrush pointed with his tail along the shoreline. “That way, where the trees go piney, and RiverClan is beyond them. ThunderClan’s in the other direction.”

“Can we see ThunderClan’s border first?” Morningpaw asked. 

“No, I want to see ShadowClan,” Duskpaw mewed decisively. 

“But-” 

“There’s no need to fight,” Aspentail meowed. “Why don’t we just split up from here, if you two are so decided? Then Duskpaw and Nettlebrush can look at ShadowClan, and Morningpaw and I can take a look at ThunderClan’s border, and we can meet up again at… the training hollow?” 

Nettlebrush flattened his ears. “What, and leave me alone with  _ this  _ little snipe?” 

Already walking towards the ThunderClan side of the lake, Aspentail called over his shoulder, “You have to learn to get along sometime!” 

Nettlebrush growled. “Fine. But stay away from the outer border if it’s just the two of you!” he called back. “The dawn patrol scented a fox there.”

“Understood! Are you coming, Morningpaw?” Aspentail waved his tail briskly. 

Morningpaw scrambled to catch up. They moved much more slowly now, though still at a brisk trot. “Are pine trees or leafy trees better for climbing?” she asked. 

“Depends on who you ask,” Aspentail replied. “Personally, I prefer pine trees. Lots of nice, craggy bark to sink your claws into. But you’ll have to learn to climb both if you want to be a SkyClan warrior! And that’s not even mentioning tree-travel.” 

Her ears pricked. “How hard is that?” Of all the Clans, only SkyClan had worked out a method of traveling over their territory without setting a single paw on the ground, but by jumping from branch to branch and tree to tree instead. It sounded terrifying, and exhilarating. To think that one wrong pawstep could mean the difference between a safe landing and death!

“It’s not so hard once you get used to it,” Aspentail told her. “Not all the trees in the forest are spread that thickly, and not all branches are as secure as they look, so the real trick of it is finding out which paths are safe before you take them.”

“I’m very good at finding patterns,” Morningpaw offered. 

“Then you’ll do nicely!” He purred. “You’re already shaping up to be a great warrior. Asking all the right questions.” 

As they walked, she tried to think of some more right questions to ask. Nothing came to mind, but she was thinking so hard that it startled her when Aspentail asked one instead. “Do you know which Clans we have to be  _ most  _ careful of?”

Morningpaw thought hard. "ThunderClan and ShadowClan,” she meowed eventually. “We share borders with them, right? So… they’d be more likely to start fights with us?”

"Very good," Aspentail mewed. "Of course, you can't underestimate RiverClan or WindClan, either. Clans like them have been known to skip past their neighbors in favour of attacking someone a little farther away." As he talked, he led her further down the shoreline, and Morningpaw dabbed at the water whenever a wave got a little too close for comfort. Aspentail didn't seem to mind. Either he was brave or Morningpaw was just very new at this. Perhaps a mix of both.

Morningpaw tilted her head. "Why would a Clan attack someone farther away?"

"Oh, any number of reasons. Perhaps one leader has a grudge, or maybe they think the Clan they're attacking stole prey or broke the warrior code. Perhaps they're aiding allies in battle, or even trying to do away with a leader or Clan entirely."

"No one would do that!"

"You'd be surprised. Surely you've heard how SkyClan was driven out?"

Morningpaw twitched her tail. "Yeah, but that was different. That wasn't a battle- and anyway, the other Clans felt bad, right? That's why they worked so hard to bring SkyClan back."

"Quite so. But some of the other stories I've heard, well... Let's just say I wouldn't trust certain cats, and certain Clans, for so much as a mousetail. Let's leave it at that.” He touched her shoulder with his tail. “Now stop, do you hear that?” 

Morningpaw paused and angled her ears forward, concentrating hard. Did he mean the breeze that whisked towards the ThunderClan border? It rustled through the canopy and whispered through her fur. It couldn’t have been the waves from the lake lapping against the shore, and while he  _ might  _ have meant the sound of prey in the undergrowth she couldn’t pick any out. But then, underneath the other noises, she caught just a trace of a bubbling, rippling noise, like water sliding endlessly over stones.

She tilted her head to the side. “Is that… a stream?” she guessed.

“Very good! Yes, we’re approaching the border with ThunderClan. It might be hard to smell since the wind is blowing towards them, but I’m sure you’ll catch ThunderClan scent soon enough.” He began bounding over the shore, with Morningpaw doing her best to keep up.  _ Foxdung to my short legs!  _ she thought as she scampered after her mentor. 

Aspentail skidded to a stop at the bank of the stream. Morningpaw tried to copy him, but tried to stop too slowly and found herself stumbling straight into the stream. 

The water chilled her to the bone the moment it touched her. It closed over her head. For a moment, she panicked, claws scrabbling at the slippery stones for any hope of purchase. Her jaws opened in a soundless wail. A mistake, since the water rushed into her mouth and made her choke.

Then a pair of jaws clamped around her neck, and Morningpaw was hauled out of the stream and onto dry ground. As she gasped and spluttered, Aspentail shook out his pelt and mewed wryly, “If you wanted to drown yourself, the lake was right there.” 

“S-sorry.” She crouched, shivering, on the damp grass. 

Aspentail began licking her soggy fur. “Don’t worry about it. Flamestorm fell in the lake on  _ his  _ first day, you know.”

“Really?” 

As she caught her breath, Aspentail continued, “Oh, yes, he was very full of himself. He got into a fight with one of the older apprentices and she ended up pushing him into the lake. And then I had to fish him out. It really made me realize that being a mentor isn’t all fun and games. A lot of it is pulling your stoneheaded apprentice out of every thorn thicket he manages to get stuck in! There, can you stand up now?” 

Morningpaw found her paws again, then after taking a deep breath, shook all the water out of her fluffy pelt. Her tail was the worst off, she saw. Normally so fluffy, now it looked more like something she’d see on a drowned squirrel. 

Aspentail rolled his eyes at her wrinkled muzzle. “It’ll dry off in no time. Now, let’s run! You’ll warm up faster that way.” He sprang into a run at once, and Morningpaw hurried to follow. 

He was right, she realized, and though her legs began to ache before long, she felt warm from the her nose to even the tip of her soggy tail. “Is the stream always so high?” she panted as they ran along it, making sure to keep at least a tail-length from its banks. 

“Oh, no,” he replied easily. “It’s usually a lot lower, but we’ve had a lot of rain this-” Then he stopped, raising his tail to indicate she stop too. 

At first, Morningpaw didn’t understand why he wanted her to stop running. Was there prey nearby? Danger? Then she saw: three huge cats, racing towards them from the opposite direction, tails bushed and eyes alight with hostily. 

ThunderClan warriors!


	5. A New Dawn (Ch. 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morningpaw meets a ThunderClan patrol.

**Shattered Roots**

**A New Dawn: Chapter 3**

 

“Just stay behind me,” Aspentail warned as the ThunderClan cats drew closer. 

Morningpaw huddled behind her mentor’s legs, but she kept her head and hail determinedly high. She wouldn’t let any strange warriors see she was nervous. 

The ThunderClan warriors drew to a stop. While there was still a stream separating them, the warriors looks so big and angry that Morningpaw didn’t think it would be an issue for any of them to jump over. A ragged brown tom, every inch of his scarred pelt bristling, stalked forward until he was a whisker’s breadth from falling into the stream, and hissed, “What are you SkyClan worms doing so close to our border?” 

“Invaders!” growled the second cat, a large black-and-white tom with a scarred face. 

Aspentail rolled his eyes. “Oh yes, Padstar, your warriors are as astute as ever. I  _ hardly  _ think one warrior and one new apprentice, on our own side of the border, mind you, could possibly count as an invading force.”

Morningpaw blinked.  _ Padstar?  _ The rangy old brown cat was ThunderClan’s  _ leader?  _

Padstar’s tail twitched dangerously, and Morningpaw reminded herself that no matter how he looked, he was still a seasoned warrior and had led ThunderClan longer than most cats had been alive. “You’d better  _ stay  _ on your side, or ThunderClan will have something to say about it,” he spat. “We’ve had too many trespassers over our borders.”

Aspentail’s eyes stretched wide. “Not SkyClan, surely? I promise we would never steal prey, if that’s what you’re implying. Oh no, we’re too well-fed in our own territory for that.” He nodded to where Morningpaw stood. “I’m just showing my apprentice where the border lies, so she knows not to cross it.”

Morningpaw blinked up at Padstar hopefully. “H-hi. I’m Morningpaw.”

He scrutinized her with a steely eye, then snorted and turned away. “I’m surprised your leader lets you have an apprentice,” he growled, and a strange tension rose into the air. “Now try showing her  _ away  _ from ThunderClan’s border.”

"Don't think we're not scared to claw your ears off," the black-and-white warrior threatened as he flexed his claws. The silver she-cat next to him backed him up with a fierce hiss. 

"Very brave," Aspentail growled. "Three full-grown warriors against one SkyClan warrior and a new apprentice. Clearly you're showing great courage here. StarClan would be proud. But don't worry, we're leaving." He flicked his tail, and Morningpaw hurried to follow him as he strode into the forest.

"You'd  _ better _ ," Padstar snarled behind them.

Morningpaw trotted to keep up with Aspentail. "That was really Padstar? He seems..." she asked. She had to admit, she was surprised. Hickorystar radiated strength and wisdom, whereas the ThunderClan leader more resembled a lanky old rogue who had been in too many fights.

"Yeah, I know. Supposedly he used to be a better leader, but these past seasons he's been more and more aggressive and battle-hungry, and his cats have just been going along with it. If you asked me, I'd say he was worried about growing old."

"Really?"

"He  _ is _ getting on in years. Frankly, I'm surprised Floodpool hasn't replaced him yet. That's his deputy," Aspentail clarified.

"Oh."

"Though if I  _ had _ to choose a ThunderClan cat to be leader- wait. Do you smell that?"

Morningpaw lifted her muzzle and breathed in deeply. The regular scents of the forest were there, and snaking in-between them, rich and spicy, was the scent of- "Mouse!"

Aspentail's eyes gleamed. "Right. So let's try to creep up on it. Slowly now, and lift your tail, you don't want it dragging on any leaves and alerting the mouse."

Morningpaw froze. "But what about my paws?" she whispered.

"Just lift them carefully, and watch where you put them. Watch what I do." Aspentail crouched, his belly fur just barely brushing the ground. Moving quickly, he placed one paw in front of the other and snaked his way over the forest floor with barely a sound. He glanced back at her. "See, like that? And place your paws gently, mind. A mouse will feel your pawsteps before it even hears you."

Morningpaw tried to copy him, but her paws felt clumsy beneath her, and she heard her tail brush over the ground. Too low- she lifted it and felt it catch on a branch. "Ow!" She tried to tug it away, but to no avail. Another vicious tug, and suddenly she was tumbling forward, nose over tail. She thumped onto her back right beside Aspentail.

He twitched an ear. "With moves like that, you'll drive all the prey out of the forest. Don't worry, though," he mewed as he nudged her to her feet. "With a start like this, you can only get better."

Morningpaw shook herself off. "Is the mouse gone?" she asked in a small voice.

He sniffed. "Seems so. Try the hunting crouch again. I'd like to at least see a better go of it before we move on."

With the utmost care, Morningpaw lowered herself into a crouch, until she felt her belly fur brush the earth. One paw after another, she pulled herself forward, pushing for quieter and quieter with every step. Just in time, she lifted her tail enough so that it wouldn't brush the leaves, but not high enough that it would smack into any leaves or bushes above her.

Aspentail watched her carefully. "Not bad, though you wouldn't be able to catch a slug at that pace. Now, see this leaf?" He walked a couple fox-lengths in front of her and tapped a leaf with his paw. "Try to pounce so you land right on it."

Morningpaw eyed the leaf doubtfully. "I don't think I can jump that far."

Aspentail waved his tail encouragingly. "You've played at hunting before, surely? Just give it a try."

"Alright..." Morningpaw fixed her eyes on the leaf.  _ Just imagine it's a mouse,  _ she told herself. She waggled her haunches and leaped. Her claws were still reaching out for the leap when her chest slammed into the earth, and she skidded the last bit of distance until her claws just gently brushed the leap. Embarrassed, she looked up at Aspentail.

"Not bad," he remarked. "I didn't expect you to get that far- we'll make a SkyClan warrior of you yet!"

Morningpaw sat up and licked her ruffled chest fur. Dust clung to her tongue and she gagged. "What next?" she mewed, after shaking the rest of the dust off.

Aspentail began striding through the trees. "The ThunderClan border is out of bounds for now, at least until Padstar and his patrol clear off. How about I show you the rest of SkyClan?"

"Okay!" Morningpaw followed him eagerly.

They traced a well-worn trail through the forest that Aspentail claimed was an old fox trail, but Morningpaw hadn't been able to catch even a wisp of a scent. The fox must have abandoned these woods long ago.

“Have you ever fought a fox?” she asked. 

“Once or twice. Last leafbare a patrol I was on found a skinny fox trying to hunt rabbits in our territory, but we drove it off before it could even  _ think  _ of catching one.” Aspentail spoke with great satisfaction. 

“Was it hard?” Morningpaw couldn’t even think of fighting a fox. All the stories she’d heard made them sound like horrible red-furred beasts with mouths full of jagged fangs and hearts full of nothing but a conniving bloodlust. 

“Not as hard as catching those rabbits later was.” He ducked beneath a thick stand of ferns, beckoning for Morningpaw to follow. 

They emerged into a wide sandy clearing, ringed with ferns and old, craggy trees. About half of the trees were broad, leafy trees, and the other half was imposing pines. Something flashed in the branches of one of them -- likely a squirrel that thought it was safe in the trees. The ground was scuffed by many paws, and Morningpaw could easily picture all the fights, playful or otherwise, that had taken place here. She breathed in deeply, greeted with the familiar scents of Leafpaw and Nutpaw, and their mentors Rooktail and Stonestep. Clearly they came here a lot. “Is this the training hollow?” she mewed eagerly. 

“It is! And it looks like we beat Duskpaw and Nettlebrush here, too.” Aspentail nodded to one of the bigger cedars. "Want to give climbing a try? I can help you."

"Sure!" Morningpaw stepped towards the cedar. Of course she knew how to climb- SkyClan cats would clamber up the dens and part-way up the trees that ringed the camp from the moment they opened their eyes, but this was different. This would be climbing up into the  _ branches _ of the tree, and more importantly, it would be her first time climbing as an apprentice. She had to get it right.

But before she could sink her claws into the bark, she glimpsed something from the corner of her eye, and looked up to see a dark shape plummeting from the tree towards her. She had a fleeting horrible recollection of her dream, and then she was being smothered by thick fur, and gripped with strong claws.

_ This is it, _ she thought.  _ This is how I die. _

The weight lifted, and Morningpaw gulped a breath of fresh air, followed by a too familiar scent. "Leafpaw!" she meowed indignantly.

Leafpaw eyed her coolly and licked a paw. "It's not my fault you looked so much like a squirrel."

"I don't look anything like a squirrel!"

"Your tail does," Leafpaw purred, and she flicked it with her own. "Like someone stuck a black squirrel's tail onto a hedgehog's rump."

"Hmph." Morningpaw's ears flattened as she glared at the tortoiseshell apprentice. "You think you're so great."

"You're only mad because I got the drop on you." Leafpaw's eyes gleamed teasingly, and Morningpaw couldn't resist a purr. To the branches above, Leafpaw called, “How’s  _ that  _ for a tree-drop?”

Rooktail’s sleek black form dropped neatly beside her apprentice’s. “Not bad,” she mewed lightly. “Though try not to jump on your own Clanmates next time.”

Aspentail stepped forward. “Are Nutpaw and Stonestep here too?” 

“ _ Obviously! _ ” Nutpaw yowled from the branch he crouched on. With all the grace of an ungainly old squirrel, he scrambled down from the tree to stand beside his sister. He stuck out his narrow chest. “I’d be surprised if they  _ didn’t  _ make us warriors by the end of the day!” 

“You still have to do your final assessments,” Stonestep warned from his own perch. “And you aren’t due to take those for at  _ least  _ another half-moon.” Pawstep by pawstep, he began hauling himself down from the tree.

"We don't  _ need  _ final assessments," Nutpaw meowed boldly. "We're already better than some warriors."

“Name  _ one, _ ” demanded Leafpaw.

“Thrushflight, duh.” 

“Oh, right, yeah.”

Aspentail purred. "Looks like he's still quite a pawful."

“Not as much a pawful as you were at that age,” Rooktail replied. 

“I suppose I can’t deny that.”

“I’m more of a pawful than you,” Leafpaw meowed to Nutpaw.

"No you're not." He growled, crouched, and then flung himself at Leafpaw.

Leafpaw was ready for him, and rolled away before he could touch her. She bounced to her feet and jumped high in the air, but Nutpaw dodged out of the way before she could land on his back. Leafpaw snapped at his tail. Nutpaw turned in a tight circle and feinted with a paw at her cheek before darting underneath her belly and shoving her roughly to the ground. He leaped on her again, and she grabbed him, holding him tightly with her paws while churning his belly with her hind legs. Nutpaw bit her neck.

"Alright, that's enough," Rooktail meowed. The two apprentices broke apart, panting and straightening up their fur.

Morningpaw stared, eyes wide. "Why didn't you stop them before?"

Stonestep tilted his head quizzically. "Should we have? They kept their claws sheathed."

Nutpaw snorted. "Yeah, we were just sparring."

Just sparring? They had looked as though they wanted to kill each other! Though now that Morningpaw thought about it, she realized that she hadn't seen any claws, and that Nutpaw had been gentle when biting his sister.

Aspentail must have seen the worried tension in her pelt, for he laid his tail reassuringly over her shoulders. "Don't worry. With a little learning, you'll know moves as good as that, and you'll be sparring with your littermates in no time." His mew turned thoughtful. "Though you'd probably want to go easy on Nightpaw, he  _ is  _ rather small. Ah, but I'm sure he'll grow."

“Who’ll grow?” Nettlebrush stepped into the hollow now, but it was Duskpaw who spoke, her mew loud and demanding.

“Nightpaw!” Morningpaw mewed. “Aspentail’s worried he’s small.” 

Duskpaw narrowed her eyes. “Oh, he’s small, but he’s sneaky. Did you see how he and Hawkeye just slipped out of camp when no one was looking?” 

Leafpaw interjected, “How could anyone see if they did it when no one was looking?” 

“Exactly my point! It was rude of them not to tell anyone.”

“This is why I don’t like apprentices,” Nettlebrush growled. “Chattering little birds, the lot of you.” 

“That’s not quite fair-” Aspentail began, then froze, his body stiffening. “Do you smell that?”

Stonestep, Nettlebrush, and Rooktail all sniffed the air, and at once their expressions grew tight.

Morningpaw sniffed too, and caught a scent of something rank and sour. “Fox,” she breathed, recognizing the scent at once. Then she blinked, confused. Had she smelled fox before?

Aspentail gave her an odd look. “Yes, a fox. You and Duskpaw had better get up a tree at once. I don’t want  _ either  _ of you trying to fight it.” 

"But-  _ you're _ all going to fight it? Can foxes climb trees?" Morningpaw began trembling. “They can’t, right?”

" _ We  _ know how to fight foxes," Aspentail meowed grimly. "And we can't let it get further into SkyClan territory.”

“Foxes can’t climb trees,” Leafpaw meowed, surprisingly reassuring. 

Nettlebrush snorted. “Stonestep, go with the young ones. I don’t put it past Duskpaw to try and attack the mangy thing.” 

“You think so little of me,” Duskpaw mewed. Tail high, she spun on her paws and marched for the nearest tree, a sturdy oak. Suitably cowed, Morningpaw followed. 

“Remember,” Nettlebrush growled, “those apprentices are in  _ your  _ care, Stonestep. Protect them with your life.”

Stonestep was very helpful with climbing tips. He showed Morningpaw how to place her paws, one at a time, and Morningpaw resisted the urge to bound up the tree like she had in her dream. This was a slower and more careful climb and ultimately, a safer one. The whole time, the reek of fox grew only stronger. Every moment Morningpaw pictured the red-furred beast exploding out of the bushes to attack.

Once Morningpaw, Duskpaw, and Stonestep were all situated on one of the lower branches, with Stonestep closest to the trunk, she risked a glance down. Aspentail, Nettlebrush, and Rooktail had formed a loose semicircle in the training clearing, with Leafpaw and Nutpaw behind them. Nettlebrush hissed, “Come out, you mangy fox. We know you’re out there.” 

Out there and creeping closer with every second. Morningpaw shivered. Then she caught a glimpse of red slinking through the bushes and barely had time to hiss, “Fox!” before it exploded out of the ferns at an angle to the warriors.

It let out an odd, high snarl as it snapped its jaws shut on where Aspentail’s tail had been a moment before. Aspentail snarled, “Stay off our territory!” as he raked his claws down its flank. “SkyClan, attack!” 

“That’s  _ my- _ ” Nettlebrush began, then rolled his eyes and joined the others as they surged to attack. 

Rooktail stood side by side with Leafpaw, the two of them moving in tandem to distract the fox, then slash at its muzzle. It snapped at Leafpaw, but Rooktail countered with a blow that left a bleeding slash across its pointed muzzle. Nettlebrush attacked the fox’s other flank while Nutpaw bunched his legs and, with a massive leap, threw himself on the fox’s back. 

Morningpaw was awed. Her Clanmates moved in an incredible unison, as though they were one cat instead of five, all harrying and attacking the fox to the edge of the clearing. Any moment now, she was sure, it would turn tail and run, but in the meantime it bit and spun on its paws and let out more high-pitch, frustrated growls.

Then she caught a flash of movement from the other side of the clearing. A flash of red fur, creeping in from the upward side where her clanmates had no chance of scenting it. The first fox had a mate! This had been a trick! She glanced at Duskpaw and Stonestep, but they were too busy to watch this new enemy that, even now, the dog fox sneakily urged the SkyClan cats towards. 

"Fox," she gasped. Then, louder: "Fox! Fox! There's another fox, watch out! There's another!"

Aspentail turned in a flash, but he was too late to stop the new fox -- a vixen, Morningpaw saw in an agonizingly slow moment -- from lunging forward and sinking its jaws in Rooktail’s neck. It shook her roughly then threw her to the side of the clearing, where she lay motionless. Blood began to pool beneath her.

“No!” Leafpaw yowled. A new fury lit her eyes and she attacked the vixen with swipe after brutal swipe. Aspentail leapt after her, his own jaws parted in a snarl of rage. 

Five cats against one fox were good odds, but five -- no, four cats against two, the odds were much more doubtful. Aspentail and Leafpaw pummeled the vixen with sharp blows, and the dog fox Nettlebrush and Nutpaw were left to fight had many long, bloodied scratches, but they were both so much bigger than the cats, and their jaws so large and fast… Morningpaw yelped as a bite from the dog fox left a deep gouge in Nettlebrush’s flank. Aspentail was already missing several clumps of fur from his sides, and while Leafpaw was too enraged to stop her attack, Nutpaw seemed to be tiring quickly. 

This was no longer a battle to drive away a fox. This was a battle to survive.

The dog fox reached over its shoulder and grabbed Nutpaw by the scruff. It shook him roughly, only dropping the stunned apprentice when Nettlebrush flung himself at the dog fox's face and clawed a deep gouge right into the its ugly muzzle. It snarled and turned on him, teeth wet with bright blood- though Morningpaw noted it seemed to be trying to dart around him, to get to Nutpaw. Nettlebrush was limping; how long could he keep fighting? 

“I’m going down,” Stonestep mewed decisively. “You two,  _ stay here. _ ” As quickly as he could, he clambered down from the tree and flung himself with all his might into the battle, giving the dog fox a dizzying blow to the muzzle. 

Leafpaw took just a moment to glance over. When she saw Nutpaw’s prone form her eyes stretched wide, but before she could even open her jaws to wail her brother’s name, the vixen sank its jaws deep into her leg. Leafpaw yowled in pain as the vixen shook its head back and forth. 

“Let her  _ go! _ ” Aspentail snarled. He raked his claws over the vixen’s ear and it released Leafpaw in favor of attacking him. 

While Aspentail battle the fox alone, Leafpaw dragged herself to the shelter of the oak, collapsing against the trunk.

“Leafpaw?” Duskpaw mewed, sounding frightened for the first time in her life. She began to edge towards the trunk, shivering all the time.

“No, don’t!” Leafpaw yowled. “Don’t come down, you’ll only get hurt!”

“Then you come up!” Morningpaw mewed urgently. “Climb up so they can’t get you!”

Leafpaw tried, but she couldn’t seem to put any weight on her injured leg, so it was slow going. She gave a low wail and slid back down to the ground. “I can’t!” 

Morningpaw’s heart thudded in her ears. She’d just been made an apprentice today, she couldn’t do anything. But she couldn’t just sit safely on this tree branch and do  _ nothing  _ while her Clanmates foughts for their lives!

As she tried to work out what to do, the vixen shook Aspentail off, turned on its paws, and began stalking towards Leafpaw. Its eyes were fixed on the shivering dark apprentice. Aspentail struggled to his paws, but he was clearly winded. He would never make it in time. 

Morningpaw stared down at Leafpaw, who was crouched and shaking like so much terrified prey.  _ Like prey.  _ Inspiration struck her.  _ Like my dream!  _

She edged further out on the branch. It wouldn’t be Leafpaw she would drop on. No, her prey was much larger and much more terrifying. Morningpaw took a deep breath. She tugged her claws free from the branch. As the vixen passed beneath her, she dropped from the tree, right onto its mangy back. 

Her claws sank in the moment she felt fur beneath her, and she bit hard into its foul-tasting shoulder.  _ Take that!  _ she thought triumphantly.  _ Justice for Rooktail! _

The vixen snarled, forgetting Leafpaw entirely in its newfound desire to rid itself of the new cat clinging to its back. Morningpaw shut her eyes hung on grimly. She had to hold on to the fox or she would die. 

The fox over onto its back, crushing Morningpaw beneath it and forcing her to let go. As soon as the pressure left her, she sprang to her feet, teeth bared in a snarl. Then she shrank back. The vixen was so  _ big.  _ But then she remembered Leafpaw, and Rooktail, and she did her very best to attack, slashing with unsheathed claws at its muzzle. She tried to dart underneath the fox like she'd seen Nutpaw do with Leafpaw, but before she could finish the move, a searing pain seized her tail, and she felt herself being dragged, inch by inch, into the open.

"No!" she yelped. She turned to swipe at the fox, but suddenly she was being shaken too viciously to do anything but shriek with pain. Jolts went up her tail, up her spine, even down her legs. She tried to dig her claws into the ground, but any purchase she found was ripped away. lunt claws dug deep into her flank. The fox bit down. Something in her tail crunched. Morningpaw's vision darkened dangerously, and she gave up fighting to hang limply in the fox's jaws.

Suddenly the horrible pressure on her tail released, and Morningpaw's hindquarters thumped to the ground. She blinked through the haze of shock and pain to see Aspentail flinging himself at the fox, his eyes alight with rage. With a fearsome growl, Nutpaw dashed in to join him, battering the fox with claws too quick to follow. 

“Stay away from my sister!” he snarled. 

“ _ And  _ my apprentice!” Aspentail added. 

Morningpaw found herself being pulled by the scruff to the trunk of the oak. For a moment she thought it was Duskpaw, come to help, but when she blinked up she only saw Leafpaw’s worried blue eyes. Duskpaw -- Duskpaw was gone. Had she climbed down when Morningpaw wasn’t looking? 

“You saved me,” Leafpaw whispered. 

Morningpaw dully supposed that she had. But for what purpose? It was clearly a losing battle.

Nettlebrush was bleeding from half a dozen different places. Even as Stonestep clawed the dog fox’s flank, he stumbled, one of his paws held awkwardly off the ground. Aspentail and Nutpaw weren’t so badly off, but the vixen barely had a scratch and showed no signs of stopping its relentless attack. 

The vixen threw Aspentail off its shoulders and left a gash in Nutpaw’s back. Would they die too? Morningpaw struggled to her feet. She had to help, but the agony that shot through her tail at even that slight movement forced her back down to her belly. 

She felt rather than heard the thrum of pawsteps on the ground. A stream of cats burst from the trees. They were all cats she recognized: Robinfrost, Foxfall, Thrushflight, and two cats that made Morningpaw's heart sing- Moonface and Sunflash. They attacked the foxes with a fervor, and the tide of battle near-immediately turned in the cats' favor.

The foxes were already injured, and the fresh cats attacked them with a new fury and unblunted claws. They all moved too fast to keep track of, but the vicious snarls of the foxes quickly turned to yelps and yowls of pain as the cats pressed on mercilessly. In moments the vixen was pressed to the edge of the clearing, and the dog fox was so surrounded by cats it couldn’t move at all.

A strangled sort of yelp came from the dog fox. It stood, swaying for a moment, evidently surprised at the gush of blood from its throat. Equally surprised was Robinfrost, who had struck the fox’s neck and whose paw even now was soaked in blood. Then the fox collapsed into a heap of bloodstained fur. It was dead. 

The vixen whined. It hesitated a moment, then turned and darted into the trees. There was a rustle of branches and then silence.

“We should go after it!” Foxfall growled, but Robinfrost stopped her with a touch of her tail to the younger warrior’s shoulder. 

“No.” Robinfrost eyed the blood-stained training hollow with a critical eye. “I don’t think the fox will stop running for a while, with its mate dead. We need to focus on the wounded right now. You’re lucky Duskpaw found our patrol,” she mewed to Nettlebrush. 

“I told  _ her  _ to stay in the tree,” Nettlebrush growled. “I trust you sent her back to camp?” 

“Of course. Are the other apprentices okay?”

Morningpaw didn’t hear his response, as she found herself beset by both Sunflash and Moonface. Through the haze of pain, she felt Sunflash licking her fiercely while Moonface worried over. 

“Oh, Morningpaw, are you alright? Your poor tail!” She turned on Aspentail, who was standing awkwardly nearby. Aspentail's eyes widened as Moonface snarled, "What were you  _ thinking _ ! She was just made an apprentice, she can't fight foxes!"

“I told her to stay in a tree. I told her  _ not  _ to fight it,” Aspentail protested. “She-”

"And what were you thinking, attacking two foxes at once?!" 

Morningpaw groaned. There was no stopping her mother when she went on a tirade. 

“We thought there was only one,” Aspentail meowed firmly. “The other one crept up on us while we were distracted. Nutpaw and Leafpaw are almost warriors, we-” His mew faltered. “We thought we could handle it.”

“Well,  _ clearly  _ you couldn’t!”

"Calm down, Moonface," Robinfrost mewed. "We need to get the injured cats back to camp. Leafpaw, can you walk?"

"I'll be fine." Butthe older apprentice’s voice was shaky.

"We'll see. Morningpaw?"

Morningpaw struggled to rise to her feet, but her legs shook so much she couldn't even stand, let alone walk. "Sorry," she whispered.

"No, it's fine. Moonface, Sunflash, you carry her to camp. Make sure her tail doesn’t drag on the ground. Aspentail, can you… help me, with Rooktail? Nettlebrush wants-”

Moonface’s voice rose again. “Rooktail? Is she okay?” 

Robinfrost’s mew was tense. “Just get Morningpaw back to camp as quick as you can. Leafpaw, Nutpaw, go with them.”

Other words were lost on Morningpaw. The pain pulsing through her tail and leg was almost too much to bear, but even as the thought drifted in her mind, the pain began to numb, and she felt like she was floating up and away. Was this shock? Was she finally passing out? Or was this dying?  _ No,  _ she decided hazily.  _ If I was dying, I’m sure I’d know about it. _


	6. A New Dawn (Ch. 4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morningpaw has a bad time.

**Shattered Roots**

**A New Dawn: Chapter 4**

 

She came to her senses in a soft bed of moss. The scent of herbs wreathed her nose and, blinking in the dim light, Morningpaw shook her head. Her tail burned, and a glance told her that it had been so tightly bound in stalks and thick leaves that she could barely make out any of the fluffy dark fur, and what she could see was streaked with blood. She winced. The scratches on her flank had been daubed with herbs too, but they barely hurt at all.

“Oh, you’re awake!” It was Aspentail who spoke, half-sprawled on the floor of the medicine den with his haunches nearly stripped raw of his grey and white fur. But his eyes were bright and his ears pricked, so Morningpaw thought he would be alright. 

Her own ears twitched back with embarrassment. “Was I… asleep long?” 

“Not too long, no. And it was more… a daze, I’d say. Or shock. After I saw what that fox did to your tail, I can understand it.”

She glanced around the medicine den. In the late evening light, Huddlebrook was hard at work smearing a poultice on a somber-looking Leafpaw’s leg. In the nest next to her Stonestep was curled up, evidently fast asleep with his own wounds already treated and bound. Nutpaw, paws working restlessly at the soil, sat by the entrance. He only had a couple scrapes, so Morningpaw thought he’d be treated last. 

She blinked back at Aspentail. “Where’s Nettlebrush?” 

He angled his ears towards the den entrance. “He got his wounds tended and then immediately left to talk to Hickorystar. You know, he’s getting on in years, I have to wonder if the battle made him think of retiring…?” His thoughtful mew trailed off, but then he shook his head and continued in a stronger voice, “But no, I don’t think so. He’s still a strong warrior, he’ll be deputy for a while yet.” 

Morningpaw nodded. “And… Rooktail?” 

The dark shadow that passed over Aspentail’s eyes was all the answer she needed. Nutpaw flattened his ears and across the den, Huddlebrook paused in his work while Leafpaw closed her eyes, a flash of emotion flickering over her dark face. Morningpaw let out a low moan and buried her face in her paws. 

“Morningpaw-” Aspentail began. 

“It’s all my fault!” she wailed. “I- I  _ saw  _ the other fox, I should have said something sooner- It’s not-” She struggled to her paws, then let out a gasp and sank back down when the jostling sent a vicious bolt of pain up her tail. “It’s not  _ fair,” _ she whimpered in a ragged mew. 

“Morningpaw, look at me,” Aspentail mewed. An intense light hung in his yellow eyes. “It is  _ not  _ your fault Rooktail died. She was a warrior fighting for her Clan, and she died bravely. If you must blame  _ anyone,  _ blame the fox who snuck up and killed her. Not yourself.” His tail touched her lightly on the shoulder. 

“It’s not fair,” she whispered, then, “Where’s Moonface?” She needed her mother above all. Her mother, who would be  _ heartbroken  _ by her littermate’s death. Would she blame Morningpaw? What would Sunflash think, or Daypaw, or Duskpaw, or Nightpaw? Suddenly she couldn’t bear to think of any of them. She buried her head in her paws again. Her tail burned.

Aspentail’s voice was soft. “Moonface -- the whole Clan, really -- is out keeping vigil for Rooktail. Well, that and Huddlebrook’s banished all non-injured cats from his den. When you’re well, you can keep vigil too-” 

“I have to see her now,” Morningpaw mewed. A strange urgency gripped her bones. She had to see the body for herself, to see Rooktail’s unmoving pelt and know that she was gone forever. But even has she tried to get up, the pain surging from her tail brought her back down. “It’s not  _ fair,  _ I  _ need  _ to, I-” 

In a moment, Huddlebrook was at her side, his amber eyes filled with worry. “Morningpaw, you need to rest. Here, I’ve got some poppy seeds for you. If you eat them, you’ll be able to sleep and when you wake up, things will seem better.” He pushed a leaf towards her; resting on its smooth green surface was a scattering of tiny black seeds. 

Morningpaw regarded the seeds for a moment, then licked them up. They tasted of nothing and were quickly gone. 

Huddlebrook turned his head towards Aspentail. “Four broken bones would be bad enough,” he was mewing, “but with stinking fox teeth into the mix, and I worry that-” 

His voice was already fuzzy and far away, and she wanted to pay no further attention to it. Then someone said her name and she forced her eyes open. “Mmrow?”

Leafpaw blinked at her from the next nest over, her blue eyes clouded with sadness but alight with some strange other emotion. “That was brave, what you did,” she mewed quickly.

“S’nothing.” Morningpaw yawned. 

"It was  _ not _ nothing!" Leafpaw insisted. "A first day apprentice, attacking a fox like that even after it-" Her mew caught in her throat. "Even after it... did that, to Rooktail. That's brave. I wouldn't have done it, if I were you. That's all I wanted to say."

Morningpaw nodded. She yawned again hugely, then slumped back into her nest. Maybe Huddlebrook was right, and when she woke up everything would seem better. Maybe her tail would stop hurting, at least. 

_ And, _ she thought, as the waves of poppy-induced sleep clouded her vision and dragged her down into soothing, painless darkness, _ Leafpaw thinks I'm brave. That's impressive. _

 

When Morningpaw woke, she found a warm furry body pressed next to hers. She blinked in surprise, then let out a warm purr when she realized it was none other than Daypaw, snoring like a nest of badgers. Her tail still burned too much for her to want to get up, but she gave him a sharp nudge that sent him rolling out of the nest with exaggerated surprised. 

“Aw, Morningpaw, that wasn’t fair!” he meowed. “I was having a really good dream!” 

She glanced around the medicine den. The nests were all empty. Where had Stonestep and Leafpaw gone? Where was Huddlebrook? 

Daypaw must have seen her confusion, because he mewed quickly, “Oh, Huddlebrook’s just getting a mouse, I think. Probably.” 

“What about-” She coughed. Her throat was so  _ dry.  _ “What about Leafpaw? And Stonestep?” 

“They left! Huddlebrook said they could stay in the warriors’ den if they wanted, but to come back right away if their bites started hurting again. He  _ tried  _ to be stern but he’s just so soft. It was like watching a ball of fluff give orders.” He snorted in amusement. “Oh, and Nightpaw and Duskpaw are still out with Hawkeye, since Nettlebrush is hurt too he can’t do mentor stuff right now, and…” He thought hard, the tip of his tail twitching. “Your mentor’s okay, but he looks really dumb with half his fur gone. Sunflash went hunting, and Moonface…” His face fell. “She’s still sad about Rooktail.” 

“Oh.” Morningpaw heaved out a sigh and rested her chin on her paws. If only she could make Moonface feel better, but what could she do? Her mother was probably curled in her nest in the warriors’ den now, and- Something struck her. Brow furrowed in confusion, she mewed, “Did you say Leafpaw’s in the warriors’ den?”

Daypaw rolled to his paws. “Right, you don’t know! Hickorystar made her and Nutpaw warriors at sunhigh, for how bravely they fought the foxes. They’re Leafshadow and Nutclaw now. Nutclaw’s keeping his vigil tonight, but Hickorystar said Leafshadow could make hers up later, since her leg’s still hurt.” He sighed wistfully. “Lucky. I wish  _ I  _ had my warrior name.” 

She blinked, startled. “They’re warriors? How long have I been asleep?”

“About a day, I guess.” He shrugged, then brightened. “Oh, are you hungry?” 

“No, I’m… not.” How could she have slept so long? And her tail didn’t feel any better. Her paws worked the moss of her nest. She was going to fall behind on her warrior training at this rate, and then she’d fail her assessment, and never get her warrior name, and whose fault would it be but her own for deciding to jump on a fox from out of a tree?

“Hey, it’s okay!” Daypaw touched his nose to hers, reassuring. As he pulled back he gave her a disconcerted look. “Your nose is really warm. Are you thirsty? Oh, tell you what, I’ll get you some prey  _ and  _ some soaked moss! Then you can eat and drink at the same time!” Tail high in the air, he bounded from the medicine den.

Morningpaw was left to worry about her problems on her own. Her thoughts moved too fast and felt disjointed, like a den of mice scattering when you clawed it open. Daypaw didn’t seem upset with her, but what about Moonface, whose own littermate was killed for her mistake. What about Sunflash? What if-

Daypaw burst back into the den, a wad of soaked moss in his jaws. He skidded to a stop so quickly that icy water droplets from the moss flicked Morningpaw in the face. She blinked them away, then reached out her head to lap at the moss. She  _ was  _ thirsty. Only when she’d drunk her fill did she notice the two other cats behind her brother. 

Huddlebrook gave her a warm purr, then sniffed at the dressing covering her tail. “Hard to say,” he murmured to no one in particular. It was strange, how he liked to talk to himself. 

The other cat made Morningpaw shrink away, anxious of what she would think. But Moonface only blinked at her with sad eyes full of love, then set the chaffinch in front of her. “Here, have something to eat.” 

For some reason, the sight of fresh-kill made her stomach turn. “I’ll save it for later?” she tried.

“You’ve slept for a full  _ day,  _ dearest. You must eat  _ something.  _ Here, I’ll sit with you while you do.” Moonface settled herself at Morningpaw’s side and began quietly grooming her ears. Her mother had never seemed to subdued before. She really was upset about Rooktail. But, she reflected, she didn’t seem to be upset at  _ her  _ at all, so that was a relief. 

“I’ll stay too!” Daypaw meowed. Huddlebrook shot him a glance and he quickly added, “Out of the way!” He sprawled ungracefully across the sandy floor and pushed the chaffinch towards her. “You have to be hungry, right? I know I’d be!”

“You’re  _ always  _ hungry,” Morninglight mewed. But she wasn’t. She’d rather do anything than look at the chaffinch another second. But Daypaw was looking at her with big, entreating eyes, and Moonface was licking her ears and not upset with her at all, and even Huddlebrook mewed kindly, “You should eat,” so Morningpaw dipped her head, wrinkled her nose, and forced down a few tiny bites of the chaffinch. 

Once she’d forced down all she could stomach, Huddlebrook placed a few leaves in front of her. “Feverfew,” he explained. “You’ve got a touch of an infection, and I’d like to bring your temperature down.” 

Morningpaw lapped up the leaves, then settled her chin on her paws, much more content. With Daypaw regaling her with all the details of what had happened while she’d been asleep (Nettlebrush had gotten into an argument with Huddlebrook and Shadefern had led a patrol to make sure the surviving fox left SkyClan territory.), and Moonface quietly grooming her ears, Morningpaw thought things might begin to change for the better. So she’d had a disastrous first few days as an apprentice. So what? Like a cool leafbare melting into a warm newleaf, things would change for the brighter, she was sure. 

She fell asleep to the sound of Daypaw’s happy purr.

 

Heat pulsed in her pelt, but her bones felt like ice. Her tail burned like fire. She desperately wanted to return to sleep, but the voices that had dragged her from her slumber only grew more insistent, like being prodded with a particularly irritating paw. No, it  _ was  _ a paw, she realized, and Huddlebrook was looking at her with eyes as amber-bright as the burning in her pelt. 

“Come on now, Morningpaw,” he mewed. “Here, these herbs will make you feel better.” 

He was offering her some herbs, but all she wanted to do was roll over and sleep. Instead she buried her head in her paws and moaned. “Can I have more poppy seeds?” she managed to croak. 

“Absolutely not. Just chew these nettles, please.” 

Morningpaw miserably picked up the stems in her jaws and began to chew. Her jaws quickly began to ache, so she spat them back out and curled up in her nest. Why did everything  _ hurt  _ so much? 

She shivered, and then Sunflash was sitting next to her to keep her warm, but then a moment later her pelt was too warm and she tried to push him out of the nest. His blue eyes were like still pools of fresh water, and they stared at her, wide and worried. 

“Is she getting worse?” he asked someone else, but Morningpaw didn’t bother to listen for a reply. The world spun around her and time passed in a dizzying haze. 

Sunflash kept trying to get her to eat a mouse. "Please, Morninglight," he pleaded. "Just try."

She tried, but every time she even smelled the warm flesh, her belly heaved. The only reason she didn't throw up was because her belly had already been emptied long ago.

She trembled and shivered in her nest. Where did Sunflash go, was he gone? No, he had come back with a bit of magpie. But she couldn't make herself eat that either.

Nor could she make herself eat anything her littermates brought, or anything Moonface or Aspentail offered. The mere smell of fresh-kill made her belly cramp, and it was all she could do to drink water when it was brought to her. Oh, how her tail burned. Perhaps they should dip it in an icy stream? That might soothe it. 

She saw Nightpaw, Daypaw, and Duskpaw all staring at her with wide eyes. Their faces swam into each other and they quickly left, or was it that Morningpaw quickly fell into another strange sleep? 

Angry shouts drew her from another dizzying dream. She didn’t move -- her limbs felt like pieces of rotten wood, dead and useless -- but she did twitch an ear in the direction of the mews and tried to pick out who was who.

“You must! She was as brave as any warrior. She deserves it.” That was Aspentail, wasn’t it? What was he doing in her dream? 

“She was just barely made an apprentice.” A solemn, sturdy voice. That had to be Hickorystar. 

“So? Exceptions have been made before. I think StarClan would understand.” 

Another voice, was that Sunflash? An angry Sunflash. "You can't just give up hope like that. She could still survive! If we-"

"No!" Moonface. "I told you, no! She would never be a proper warrior, and there's no guarantee she would survive that either. Do it," she growled. 

“No, if you just-” 

“Please, Sunflash.” Aspentail. “It’s not giving up hope, don’t you see? Maybe we’ll get lucky, and  _ later,  _ things will change.” A strange inflection hung in his voice. A warning? But then another feverish chill gripped her and she shivered violently before she could think about it too long. 

A long beat of silence in which Morningpaw nearly fell back asleep, and then Sunflash growled, “Fine, do it.” 

Pawsteps, and then Hickorystar's voice drifted in from directly above her. "I ask my warrior ancestors to look upon this apprentice. She was not given much time to learn the warrior code, but she lived with honor and compassion, and gave her life in service to her Clan. Let StarClan receive her as a warrior. She will be known as Morninglight, so that we may remember how her bright spirit shone into our lives.” A rough tongue licked her head as another cat let out a strangled mew. 

_ StarClan?  _ Morningpaw wondered as the next wave of dizzying darkness pulled her away.  _ Am I dying? _

 

Her dreams were muddied and indistinct, and she saw nothing with clarity. Once she thought she thought a shining field in front of her, but the harder she ran to reach it, the farther it pulled away. She opened her eyes in the medicine den and felt truly and horribly sick. The heat in her pelt hadn’t left her, and the burning in her tail hadn’t ceased. But now she was alone in the medicine den, and cats were outside, mewing in low voices. 

She tried to struggle to her paws to see what they were talking about, but a long black tail brushed her shoulder and pulled her back down. 

“Hush,” a comforting voice rasped. Morningpaw blinked gratefully up at Rooktail. _You’re_ _alive!_ she thought, or perhaps said, with exuberance. 

Rooktail’s black pelt glowed in the moonlight. Her white paws gleamed like stars. She swept her tail over Morningpaw’s side and with its cool touch, every aching muscle began to relax.

“Thank you,” Morningpaw whispered.

“Hush. Sleep now.” She smoothed her tongue once over Morningpaw's cheek before settling down beside her. "You need to rest. StarClan isn't ready for you yet."

“Why not?” Her own voice felt small and far away to her own ears, and Rooktail’s was no better. Was she already going to StarClan, or just to sleep? What was the difference, anyhow? And was StarClan mad at her?

She must have said that last one out loud, because Rooktail purred, “No, nothing like that. But you’ve a big destiny ahead of you, and you wouldn’t want to spoil that by dying, would you? So sleep now. Everything will be better in the morning.”

Morningpaw's eyes began to droop. Even as they closed, the sleek black warrior faded away.

 

When she woke again, she was hungry. The burning that had bothered her for so long had faded from her pelt. While a dull pain still throbbed in her hindquarters, the aching pulse of infection had finally left her. She sighed with relief. 

The smell of mouse greeted her nose and her belly replied with a painful growl. She hauled herself over the edge of the nest to see a plump blackbird waiting for her, along with a wad of soaked moss. She lapped all the water from the moss, then began nipping small bites from the bird. As she ate, she wondered at how strange her dreams had been. Rooktail hadn’t really been in here, had she? Morningpaw certainly couldn’t scent her. She was dead. The reminder sent a pang of regret through her, but she firmly pushed it down. Just nonsense fevered dreams, that’s all. She hadn’t been dying at all. 

When she was halfway through the blackbird, Huddlebrook stepped into the medicine den, a wad of furry leaves in his jaws. His eyes widened when he saw her. After he tucked the leaves into a niche in the den wall, he blinked at her warmly. “You look  _ much  _ better. The treatment worked! Everyone will be so pleased, your father especially.”

“I’m glad too. I don’t like being sick,” she mewed through a mouthful of blackbird. 

“Well, you’ve still got quite a bit of recovery ahead of you after half a moon of being ill.”

Her jaw fell open. “ _ Half a moon? _ ” 

He nodded solemnly. “It was a serious infection, and I only just managed to save you in time, thank StarClan. Mind you, Morninglight, you’ll still have to rest and eat plenty, not to mention warrior training to catch up on. I suppose they’ll have to adjust your warrior training, hm.” 

She furrowed her brow. “Adjust my warrior training? Why? And… you know it’s Morning _ paw,  _ right? I’m not a warrior yet!”

Huddlebrook gave her a troubled look but didn’t reply.

She flattened her ears. “I’m  _ not. _ ” 

"The thing is," he began. He paused for a moment, tail twitching. "When an apprentice is on the verge of death, if they're considered worthy, then sometimes, a leader will give them a warrior name in a special ceremony, so that they can take that name to StarClan."

Morningpaw scowled. “I was  _ not  _ on the verge of death. I’m fine now, see?”

“Now, yes, thanks to your father’s urging.” He glanced at her tail, then away. 

She shifted onto her haunches uncomfortably, a bolt of pain shooting up her spine. She did not follow his gaze. “Urging to… do what?” she mewed slowly.

He met her gaze gravely. “The fox bite on your tail turned bad. I was able to save your life, but it was a very close thing, and… certain cats were against the idea. It was only thanks to Sunflash and Aspentail’s persuasion that I went through with it at all.” He forced his mew into a purr. “But it worked! You’re alive, and that’s what counts.”

“But- but I’m still not worthy of a warrior name!” she protested. 

"Hickorystar thought you were, or she wouldn't have given it to you. And, truth be told?" He walked to where she stood and prodded her playfully with a paw. "I heard all about it. A brand-new apprentice taking on an entire fox by herself is just stupid, but it's also incredibly brave. Especially since you did it to save your friend."

"Leafpaw- no... Leafshadow?" Huddlebrook nodded, so Morningpaw continued, "Leafshadow isn't my friend. I don't even like her."

"Even better," Huddlebrook mewed. "You did it to save a  _ Clanmate _ , and not one you even particularly cared for. And it worked! Leafshadow is doing really well. Her leg is just about healed."

Morningpaw cocked her head to the side. "So everyone else is okay?"

“Er… more or less. You remember about Rooktail, right?” He seemed relieved when she nodded, then continued, “Nutclaw only had a few scratches, and Aspentail’s fur is already growing back -- they’re both back on full duties already. Stonestep will have to rest for another day or so, and Nettlebrush…” He shook his head, more resigned than annoyed. “No matter what I or Hickorystar say, he refuses to rest any longer than absolutely necessary. I was tempted to just drag him to his nest and sit on him, I’ll tell you that much.”

Morningpaw forced a purr of amusement. “That sounds like Nettlebrush.” Then she sighed, staring at the half-eaten blackbird at her paws. “I wish I could have sat vigil for Rooktail.”

“So do I.” When Morningpaw blinked at him in surprise, he mewed briskly, “I had a lot of cats to take care of, remember? But let’s focus on the present now: namely, you getting well. The infection may be gone, but you’ll still have to regain your strength and work on your balance, but I think-” 

The hostility in her own mew surprised her. “My balance? My balance is fine. See?” She rose to her paws, meaning to stride boldly across the medicine den, but her very first step nearly sent her sprawling across the medicine den. Something  _ was  _ wrong with her sense of balance. A sinking feeling rose in her gut.

“Morninglight,” Huddlebrook began.

“Morning _ paw, _ ” she muttered, staring at her paws. 

Huddlebrook said nothing for a long moment. Then, in a quiet but firm mew, he continued, “Morninglight. You can’t keep avoiding it. You know your tail is gone.”

She dug her claws into the dirt, trying to keep from shaking. Slowly, with all the effort of pushing a stone as big as a badger, she turned her head to look back at her own rump. Where her beautiful long fluffy tail had been, there was now an ugly ragged stump crusted in blood and smeared with a strong-smelling poultice. 

“It’s not so bad,” Huddlebrook mewed unconvincingly. “There’s plenty of cats with tails missing, and they’re fine warriors. Marshpelt of ShadowClan, for instance. Half a tail and a twisted leg, and  _ she’s  _ one of the fiercest warriors around the lake. And take Floodpool, too. She’s got barely any tail left after that fox trap snared it off, and she’s the deputy of ThunderClan.”

A growl rose in Morningpaw’s throat. “But neither of  _ them  _ are SkyClan cats! SkyClan warriors  _ need  _ tails, we need them for balance when we climb, and… and I’ll never be a proper SkyClan warrior with no tail! I need it for balance! How could you just cut it off?!” 

The medicine cat began to look annoyed. “Would you rather have died?” 

“Yes! No! Leave me alone!” Angry, distressed, and despite Huddlebrook’s protests, she stumbled from the medicine den.

The bright midday light stung her eyes. Blinking against it, she stared around the camp. Most warriors seemed to be out on patrol, but a couple of them were sprawled in the sunshine, lazily sharing tongues. Hawkeye and Shiverpelt were curled close together, chatting with Blueflame, who lay a few tail-lengths away. Nearer to the Tallrock, Leafshadow sa with her leg at an wkward angle. She spoke quietly to someone hidden by the curve of the rock, and a familiar voice replied just as quietly. Twigberry lay at the mouth of the nursery, tired but satisfied, watching her kits as they clumsily frisked around her paws. And in front of the apprentices’ den, Duskpaw, Daypaw, and Nightpaw sat, talking to each other quickly. All three of them bore serious expressions, but one by one they noticed her and exchanged their solemnity for expressions of delight. 

Daypaw was the first to bound to his paws. “Morninglight! You’re okay!” He dug his paws into the ground and raced towards her, with nightpaw and Duskpaw close behind.

“I  _ told  _ you she’d be fine,” Duskpaw mewed with a sniff as she trotted forward. 

“Everyone thought you were going to die,” Nightpaw meowed flatly.

“But she didn’t,” meowed Huddlebrook, emerging from his den. He offered Morningpaw a quick apologetic glance, then murmured, “If you get tired, return to your nest. You still need rest.” With that, he trotted quickly to the leaders’ den, disappearing inside. 

Daypaw let out a gasp. “Morninglight, your tail! It’s gone!” His ears pressed flat against his skull for a only a moment before his own still-attached tail rose high in the air. “But no tail is better than dead! I’m glad you’re alright.” 

“That’s one way to put it,” Duskpaw mewed, only a little sardonic. 

Nightpaw gave her a long look, then shook his head and padded into the medicine den, sniffing the air.

Glad that her littermates didn’t seem too perturbed, Morningpaw padded a few tail-lengths from the medicine den and sat down again. She was acutely aware of the other cats’ eyes on her, but noted with some relief that they seemed to be giving her and her littermates some space. “Where are Moonface and Sunflash?” she mewed.

“Oh, they’re on patrol,” Duskpaw mewed. Her posture was dismissive, but her tone was more than a little irritated. “Separate patrols.” 

“They’re  _ really  _ mad at each other,” Daypaw mewed in a low, confidential voice. “I’m not sure why.”

“Obviously it’s about Morninglight,” Duskpaw mewed with an elegant toss of her head. “I heard them arguing. Sunflash thinks she shouldn’t have been given a warrior name, and Moonface thinks he’s being too… what’s the word?”

“Clingy?” Daypaw offered. 

“No, that’s not it.” 

Nightpaw stepped from the medicine den, something dark and fluffy clutched in his jaws. “I found her tail,” he mumbled through a mouthful of fur. 

Morningpaw recoiled. She hadn’t seen that in the medicine den. 

Nightpaw dropped the severed appendage at his paws. “It was left in a corner with some shriveled leaves. It tastes like crow-food.” 

Duskpaw leaned forward and gave it a sniff before recoiling herself. “It smells like it belongs in the dirtplace,” she mewed with obvious disgust. From where she was sitting, a waft of rot and sickness caught her nose, and Morningpaw had to agree. 

Daypaw’s eyes widened. “Don’t you see? This is perfect!”

Duskpaw tilted her head, clearly unconvinced. “I don’t know, it just looks like a severed tail to me.” 

“Exactly! We can bury it, and send it to StarClan with all the proper honors a tail deserves.” 

“Tails don’t go to StarClan,” Duskpaw mewed derisively. 

“Only because no one buries them.” Daypaw’s whiskers twitched with amusement. 

Nightpaw raised a paw. “I for one am all for burying it. It stinks.” 

“Then it’s settled. Come on, Morninglight! Let’s go bury your tail!” He seized the tail in his jaws and marched towards the apprentices’ den, with Duskpaw rolling her eyes at his side. 

Morningpaw narrowed her eyes as she watched them go. That was  _ her  _ tail, and they were treating it like it was just another game. For a moment, she wished she could claw all their tails off, just so they’d know how she felt. She flicked her angry stare at Nightpaw and snapped, “What?” 

He flinched away, clearly hurt. “Daypaw’s only trying to make you feel better,” he mewed reproachfully. 

Morningpaw immediately regretted letting her temper go like that. “I’m sorry, I just… I’ll catch up, okay? I just… need a moment.” Her claws worked the ground as she spoke. 

“Alright. I’ll tell Daypaw and Duskpaw to wait.” Nightpaw gave her one more long look before padding off after his other siblings. 

Once she was sure he was well on his way, Morningpaw marched as steadily as she could manage (which wasn’t very much) to the Tallrock. Just as she suspected, Aspentail sat on the other side, deep in conversation with Leafshadow. He glanced up at her approach, his yellow eyes sparking with happiness. 

“Looks like someone’s doing much better!” he chirped. 

Leafshadow twitched an ear. “Well, she’s not dead at least. Not bad, Morninglight.” 

“Morning _ paw, _ ” she muttered in reply. To Aspentail, she all but growled, “I need to talk to you.” 

Wary but resigned, Aspentail rose to his paws. “I’ll leave you here,” he told Leafshadow. He followed Morningpaw behind the medicine den, where the walls of the den and the walls of camp were only a couple tail-lengths apart. “What is it?”

“Did you-” She took a breath. “Did you tell Huddlebrook to cut my tail off?” 

He gazed at her calmly. “I did. He’d mentioned that the infection came from your tail, so I thought if it was gone, you would get better. Sunflash agreed with me, and together we convinced Huddlebrook to make the right choice.” 

The fur on her neck bristled. “How  _ could  _ you? That was my  _ tail,  _ and you just- It was  _ my  _ tail!” 

“You have to understand, it wouldn’t have done you much good if it  _ had  _ stayed attached. The bones were broken so badly, you would have just ended up with a tail like a broken branch, and that would have slowed you down more than no tail at all. Huddlebrook said so himself, so I-” 

Her claws came out, carving deep furrows into the ground. “But it wasn’t your choice to  _ make!  _ It was  _ my  _ tail, and  _ my  _ choice, and who knows if I would have… and you just- It’s not  _ fair!  _ I hate you!” Her legs trembled beneath her, but whether it was because of weakness or anger she couldn’t say.

Aspentail dipped his head, looking genuinely remorseful. “I understand. I’d hate me too. Admittedly, I wasn’t thinking of your feelings at the time.” 

Morningpaw blinked up at him, surprised out of her upset by his frankness. “You weren’t?”

“No. I was thinking only of your survival. I kept thinking to myself that I couldn’t just  _ let  _ the finest apprentice I’ve ever had just go and die like that when my words, my argument, could prevent it.”

His words gave her pause. “Finest apprentice? Really?” Then she thought for a moment and wrinkled her nose in consternation. “Wait, I thought I was only your second apprentice. And I was only your apprentice for a day!” 

“Yes,” he mewed gravely. “Flamestorm was the  _ worst _ .”

That got a little  _ mrow  _ of laughter out of her. She aimed a clumsy swipe at him. “You’re being ridiculous.” 

He danced away from her jab with more enthusiasm than was strictly necessary, bumping against the camp wall. “It’s true! He always argued with me, kept running off by himself, and you wouldn’t believe how many apprentices he got into fights with at Gatherings! I’m surprised he passed his assessment at all, with how often he spent just ignoring what I said. Not deputy material in the least, that one.” His words were harsh, but his mew held an undeniable fondness in it.

“He’s not deputy material, but I am?” What a ridiculous thought. Her, deputy! Especially when it had always been Daykit making himself the leader of their games.

Aspentail looked at her, suddenly serious. “Well, why not? You’re smart, talented -- definitely the best of your litter. In time, I’m sure you  _ could  _ rise to be deputy, if you wanted. Even leader after that!”

Morningpaw hunched her shoulders. “Even with a stump for a tail?” 

“Maybe even  _ because  _ of a stump for a tail. You’d just have to work for it.” He flicked her shoulder with the tip of his tail. “I know you have it in you. Why else would I have asked Hickorystar specifically for you?”

Her jaw fell open. Aspentail had  _ asked  _ to mentor her? And she thought she’d just been lucky. “I didn’t think anyone would  _ ask  _ to mentor me,” she breathed. 

“Not just asked,” he meowed ruefully. “It was more like… begging. Repeatedly. I think she eventually gave in just because I annoyed her half to death.” 

“But… why? I don’t-” 

“Because,” he mewed, “like I said before, you’re the best of your litter. I’m certain you have a great destiny ahead of you, tail or no tail, and I want to be the one that helps you reach that destiny.” He spoke with such confidence that for a moment Morningpaw believed him before giving herself a reality check.

She flattened her ears and stared at the ground. “But Huddlebrook said that Hickorystar made me a warrior, so even if I want I can’t be your apprentice anymore.” Her mew shook. “I’m not  _ ready  _ to be a warrior, I- I was only an apprentice for one day, I-” 

“Oh, nonsense,” Aspentail mewed dismissively. “It was closer to a quarter moon, if anything. And do you really think Hickorystar would really let you go gallivanting around like a full-grown warrior with less than a day of training? She told me that if you survived I could keep training you until I felt you’d earned your place in the warriors’ den and then some. So it’ll be fine.”

Morningpaw stared at him, then let out a sigh of relief. That  _ did  _ sound fine. But… “I’m still going to ask her to change it back,” she mewed, doing her best to keep her voice firm and level. “I don’t  _ want  _ to have a warrior name yet. I just don’t feel ready.” 

“It suits you, though,” he remarked. “Do you think Hickorystar would come up with something even  _ more  _ appropriate later, is that it?”

“No, but…” 

“Do you want to know something?” he mewed. At the curious tilt of her head, he went on, “Before I got my warrior name, I was so anxious about what it would be, and what it might mean. For a while I was  _ convinced  _ it would be Aspenfang.” He flicked his distinctively-striped tail, so like the mottled grey and white bark of an aspen tree, under her chin. “I think Aspentail suits me much better. Maybe you’ll find that Morninglight suits you too, if you give it a little time.” 

She pondered that. It was true that she felt nowhere near ready to be a warrior, but if what Aspentail said was true… maybe she could bear the name, for a while. “Maybe,” she finally mewed. “I think I’ll still ask Hickorystar to change it, but in the meantime I guess I can try being Morninglight.”

He broke into a loud purr. “Glad to hear it! Let me know how it goes.” 

“Morninglight!” an impatient Daypaw called across camp. “Where are you?” 

“I think your littermates want you,” Aspentail mewed. He dipped into a deep stretch, then began trotting back into the open part of camp, pausing to glance at her. “Are you coming?” 

Feeling more steady on her feet than she had all day, Morninglight nodded, then padded after him. 


	7. A New Dawn (Ch. 5)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morninglight begins to find her new place in the Clan.

**Shattered Roots**

**A New Dawn: Chapter 5**

 

“This is stupid,” Morninglight mewed as she stared into the hole. Her littermates had scraped out a shallow furrow behind the apprentice’s den and dropped her tail in, where it lay like a dead, furry snake. She wrinkled her nose. It still smelled like crow-food and for a moment she was glad it wasn’t attached to her rump. Not if it really was as rotten as  _ that.  _

“No, it’s great!” Daypaw insisted. He puffed out his chest, then meowed loudly, “Warriors of SkyClan-”

“Hang on,” Aspentail interrupted. He sat next to Morninglight with his tail curled over his paws. “Only Morninglight and I count as warriors. The rest of you are apprentices.”

Daypaw rolled his eyes. “Warriors and  _ apprentices  _ of SkyClan,” he began again, only to be cut off again. 

“What about them? They’re not warriors  _ or  _ apprentices.” Aspentail angled his ears towards Poppyclaw and Snowstream. The two elders were walking together towards the small group. 

“What’s all the fuss about?” Snowstream asked in a creaky mew. She peered into the hole, then wrinkled her muzzle in distaste. “Burying tails? What next, are we going to start burying fresh-kill ‘cause we feel sorry for it? Hmph.” 

Poppyclaw tilted his head to the side. “It  _ is  _ odd,” he agreed. “Still, let us watch and bear witness to…” he hesitated. “Whatever it is that’s happening.”

Daypaw waited an impatient moment while the elders got themselves settled, then opened his jaws. His ears flattened and his jaw snapped shut moments before everyone else turned to see what he was looking at: Twigberry, with Icekit and Brittlekit at her sides. 

“Sorry,” Twigberry mewed. “They wanted to see what you were up to. It’s no trouble, is it?” 

“None at all!” Morninglight mewed. Or at least, it was no trouble to her. Daypaw seemed irritated, but Nightpaw and Duskpaw were, if anything, more and more amused. 

As the kits pressed forward, Twigberry leaned close to Morninglight. "It's good to see you're doing well," the russet queen murmured. Morninglight was glad that the queen didn’t bear her any ill will for stepping on Icekit, but she supposed it  _ had  _ been long enough for the memory to fade.

“ _ Cats  _ of SkyClan,” Daypaw meowed, an edge to his voice. “We are gathered here, by the apprentice’s den, to say goodbye to SkyClan’s most beloved member: Morninglight’s tail. It served her well and it was taken from her far too soon. And worst of all, how will Leafshadow ever be able to compare her to a squirrel again?” 

Still crouched by the Tallrock, Leafshadow hissed, “Leave me out of this!”

“Come on!” Daypaw meowed. “Don’t you want to help bury Morninglight’s tail?”

Now all the cats were looking at her, and the young warrior’s ears flattened. "Oh, about that." Leafshadow's paws scuffed on the ground, and then she pricked her ears. "Wow, do you hear that? Sorry, I think I hear Thrushflight calling me, to go hunting, that's terrible that I'll have to miss it. Just awful." As she spoke, she stretched one leg out in front of her, then another, oozing her way over the damp earth until suddenly she was sprinting to the warriors' den. She emerged heartbeats later, dragging a protesting Thrushflight towards the camp entrance.

Duskpaw scoffed. "Whatever. We don't need her."

 

Whiskers twitching with amusement, Daypaw scraped a pawful of dirt over the tail. 

Duskpaw stepped forward next, her whiskers twitching in amusement. 

In a far too serious voice, she mewed, "Morninglight's tail, you were a treasure to us all. Not as good as mine, of course, but a pretty good tail all the same." She scraped a pawful of dirt over the tail, eyes gleaming with mischief.

Nightpaw followed her lead, and stood over the tail for a few heartbeats before simply mewing, "May you guide Morninglight from tree to tree as though you were still attached to her rump." His pawful of dirt was added to the others. Morninglight wasn't sure whether he was trying to be amusing or serious, but she purred with laughter anyway. 

One by one the other cats added their own dirt, looking much amused themselves. Even Hawkeye, Shiverpelt, and Blueflame padded close to see what was happening. When every cat had taken a moment to scrape some dirt into the hole, they all blinked at Morninglight expectantly.

“This is ridiculous,” Morninglight muttered under her breath. Her ear tips burning with embarrassment, she stepped forward. Her fluffy tail was mostly covered now, and with a few quick swipes she buried it completely. “There.”

“You  _ have  _ to say something,” Daypaw meowed importantly. “It’s the rule.” 

She flashed him a look, but every cat  _ was  _ looking at her and what else could she do? Hesitantly, she mewed, “It was… a good tail. I liked it. Um…”  _ What do I say? Everybody’s still looking.  _ “Even though I have my warrior name now, it’s still going to be hard to catch up to my littermates. I’ll have to work on my balance more, and I’ll have to figure out how to adjust to fighting moves, hunting, climbing trees… All of that. Um..." Her ears twitched. "It's nice that I get to say goodbye, I guess?" Her next words caught in her throat. "I didn't get to say goodbye to Rooktail. I didn't even get to hold vigil for her. So this burial, it isn't just for my tail, because that's stupid. It's for Rooktail, too, I think." As she spoke the words, she knew that they were true.

Lowering her muzzle so that it nearly brushed the dirt, she murmured, "Goodbye, Rooktail. Thank you for fighting the foxes with us. Your sacrifice probably saved lives, and I hope to see you one day in StarClan." That said, she patted down the dirt covering her tail. 

She straightened her back and gazed seriously at the small group of cats. "And so," she mewed hoarsely, "we send off not only a tail, but a fellow Clanmate too. And... we shall now sit in a short silent vigil for our fallen Clanmate, to honor her."

Aspentail nodded seriously. He sat down, and whether by confusion or respect, the rest of the cats followed his lead. Icekit and Brittlekit started to ask something, but Twigberry's tail drifted over their jaws and they were quiet.

They sat in silence for a dozen heartbeats or so. Morninglight used the time to let her mind wander back. Had she  _ really  _ seen Rooktail when she was feverish and dying? Was the dark warrior in StarClan, looking down on them now? She hoped so. Finally she cleared her throat and mewed, "Thank you, Rooktail, for what you did. We'll miss you."

Aspentail rose to his paws. “Thank you, Morninglight,” he mewed hoarsely, and the other warriors gave low murmurs of agreement. A sudden rush of sympathy ran through her. Rooktail may have been Moonface’s littermate, but Morninglight had never gotten the chance to know her well. But Aspentail had hunted with her, patrolled with her, gone to Gatherings with her, and no doubt spent many a greenleaf day sharing tongues and Clan gossip. She butted her head affectionately against Aspentail’s neck.

He purred, but before he could say anything more, a stream of cats raced into camp. Aspentail paused, seemingly perplexed. "Looks like the hunting patrol and the dawn patrol came back at the same time. Must have run into each other on the way." His ears flattened. "And of course they're fighting."

A sudden snarling broke out, and the warriors parted around the fresh-kill pile to reveal Moonface and Sunflash, fur bristling and hissing at each other. Both of them seemed equally ready to spring and equally unwilling to do it.

"How  _ dare _ you!" snarled Moonface. "I love  _ all  _ my kits!"

"You have a funny way of showing it. Letting your kit die, that's very loving." Sunflash scoffed. His ears were nearly nonexistent, so closely they were pinned to his head.

Moonface's paw whipped out and when it drew back, a tuft of Sunflash's creamy fur was snagged in her claws. No blood had been drawn, but Sunflash still stiffened in shock.

"There they go again," Duskpaw muttered.

"Come now, kits," Twigberry mewed quickly. "It's time for your nap."

"But why are the big warriors fighting?" Brittlekit asked plaintively as Twigberry nudged her along. 

Before the situation could escalate any further, Nettlebrush shoved his way forward and in-between the two cats. He dealt each of them a swift cuff over their ears.

"That," he growled, "is enough."

"But he-" Moonface began.

"But she-" Sunflash started.

" _ Enough. _ " Nettlebrush drew himself up to his full height, tail lashing, and hissed, "You two were put on separate patrols for a reason, and you still managed to find each other to fight! I know you're both upset about your kit, but this is not how Clan cats act, let alone SkyClan cats. Bad enough I have to tell Hickorystar about the fox scent we found, and now how two of her most level-headed warriors can't stop bickering long enough to make themselves useful? Pathetic." He snorted and turned tail on them.

As he stalked towards the leader's den, he paused, dipped his head, and mewed calmly, "Hello, Morninglight. Nice to see you're up and about." He passed her and slipped into Hickorystar's den without another word.

Both Sunflash and Morninglight straightened up, eyes wide. In moments the two of them were bounding over, paws pounding the earth hard enough to send up little puffs of dust.

Moonface skidded to a stop in front of her and immediately began covering Morninglight's face in frantic licks. "Morninglight! Oh, my precious kit, you're alive, you're alive, I thought you were going to  _ die _ . Oh, precious Morninglight."

"Well, I feel appreciated," Duskpaw remarked.

Sunflash, meanwhile, was busy pacing eagerly around Morninglight. He rubbed his cheek against her neck, then gave her ears a few quick licks. He couldn't quite seem to keep still.

As Sunflash gently headbutted her, Daypaw took a step back and gagged. “Shiverpelt, can we practice hunting? Or search the elders for ticks?  _ Anything  _ would be better than this.” 

The older gray warrior shook her head tiredly, then meowed pointedly to Hawkeye, “Let’s take the apprentices out.” 

Hawkeye flattened her ears. “Good idea. Come on.” She flicked her tail. Nightpaw and Duskpaw hurried to follow. Blueflame hesitated, then hurried after them as well, his own pelt bristling. Aspentail was the only cat the remained behind with Morninglight and her parents, though even he seemed tense.

“Your littermates are very loyal,” he mewed dryly. 

Morninglight wriggled happily beneath the attentions of her parents, finally glad to have someone fawning over her. 

“Oh, you’re so thin,” Moonface purred. “We’ll have to bring you lots of birds to fatten you up, and-” She froze, eyes narrowed. “Your tail… Where is your tail?”

"Here we go," Aspentail muttered.

"Uh..." Morninglight shrank slightly. And to think she'd nearly allowed herself to forget that. Gently, she patted the small mound of earth where her tail was buried. "Here. It's here."

Moonface touched the mound of earth with a paw. Her claws extended, as though she were debating whether or not to dig up the mound and verify. “ _ Why  _ is it here? I  _ told  _ Huddlebrook-” Her muzzle curled. All at once she turned on Sunflash, hissing. “ _ You  _ told him to cut it off!”

He stared back coolly, his quivering whiskers the only sign of how angry he was. “I did. So what? It saved her life, didn’t it? Unlike  _ some  _ cats,  _ I  _ wanted Morninglight to live.”

Moonface bared her teeth. "And you think I didn't?"

His short tail brown flicked back and forth. "I think," he meowed tersely, "that you were too busy thinking about how losing a tail  _ might _ affect her to think about how keeping it  _ would have _ affected her. She would have died."

"And now she'll never be able to properly climb a tree," Moonface hissed. "She'll never be a true SkyClan warrior!"

Sunflash snarled. "How dare you?"

Aspentail moved, mouth already open to say something, but before he could do anything Morninglight was already pushing her way between her parents. "Stop it!" she yowled. "Stop fighting!"

"Stay out of this," Moonface growled.

"Yeah, this isn't about-" Sunflash hesitated. "Well, this is about you, but it's  _ not  _ your argument."

"Yes it  _ is _ !" Morninglight wailed. " _ I'm _ the one who got hurt, and you two didn't even ask how  _ I _ felt about it!" From her periphery, she noticed other cats staring, but refused to pay them any mind.

Neither Sunflash nor Moonface said a word. They simply stared at her, eyes huge.

" _ I'm _ the one without a tail," she continued, breathless. "And maybe it was Sunflash's idea, and maybe you didn't want that to happen, Moonface, but I guess it did happen, and now I have to deal with it. Me! Not you! And..." she hesitated as she searched for words. "And I'm  _ glad _ to be alive, even if I don’t have a tail," she finally mewed. "It's not going to be an easy path, exactly, but... I'm not ready to go to StarClan yet, even with a warrior name."

Moonface and Sunflash pinned their ears back. Their pelts flattened, and their tails drooped.

"Morninglight, I'm sorry," Moonface murmured. "I just didn't want you to suffer any more than you already were."

"I'm sorry too." Sunflash wouldn't meet her eyes. "I just... didn't want you to die."

Morninglight took a deep breath. "I know. I forgive you. I'm sorry for worrying you." She stepped forward and rubbed her head first against Sunflash's, and then Moonface's. As she stepped back, she stumbled.

"Morninglight!" Both her parents jumped forward, but Aspentail was the one there first, to support her with his shoulder.

"It's fine," she assured them all. "I'm just tired." In fact, it was getting more difficult to keep her eyes open. Her paws trembled with effort, and even the stump of her tail ached more.

"Well, if that's the case, let's get you back to the medicine den." Aspentail half-carried her back, with her parents following right on her heels. Once inside, she sank gratefully into her nest of soft, squashy moss.

_ "Ahhh." _ She closed her eyes and sighed blissfully.

"So she's back, is she?" Morninglight opened her eyes to see Huddlebrook leaning over her, a cheery glint in his eyes. "How did it go?"

She sighed. “I’ve been better.”

“You’ve also been worse. But all the same, get some rest. I’ll make sure there’s a bird and some soaked moss for you when you wake up.”

A couple heartbeats, and then Huddlebrook mewed, a little testily, "It'll be easier for her to go to sleep with less warriors cluttering up my den. So if all of you could leave...?"

"Oh, of course. Right." Moonface dipped her head. As she turned to go from the den, she drew her tail over Sunflash's shoulders and led him out. "Sleep well, Morninglight," she purred.

"Have excellent dreams!" Sunflash added.

Aspentail watched them go with the slightest shake of his head. "Those two have a lot to talk about," he mewed. "Could I stay just a little longer?"

Huddlebrook considered it. "Fine. But only a little longer," he meowed finally. "This young warrior needs her rest desperately."

"Oh, good." Aspentail settled down next to Morninglight's nest, then paused, hesitantly. "Erm, this is fine, right?"

Her whiskers twitched. "Of course."

"Right, good." Once he was sprawled out by her nest, he fixed his striking gaze on her and mewed, "Now,  _ that  _ was rather impressive."

"What was?" She tilted her head to the side, confused.

"Everything! Stopping your parents from fighting is a feat in itself, but then there were the words you said, for that tail burial. I'm sure Rooktail would have loved to hear it. It was... very genuine. And you came up with that on the spot?"

"Uh, yeah, I did."

"Sounds like a speech a leader would have come up with. Or a deputy. Well, given a little polishing."

Her ears pricked. "You think so?"

"I do! I can see it now: Morningstar, the next great leader of the Clans."

She purred and swatted at him. "Yeah, right! I haven't even done  _ one _ apprentice task yet."

“On that note.” Hickorystar stepped into the den, her elegant tail swishing behind her. “Nettlebrush told me you were awake. I thought you might want a moment.”

“She needs to  _ rest, _ ” Huddlebrook began.

“I’ll only be a moment,” Hickorystar meowed. 

Morninglight was too tired to be properly awed by how the Clan leader herself wanted to talk, but she still made an effort to follow Aspentail’s lead and dip her head respectfully. “Thank you,” she began, then hesitated. “Listen, er, I know there was a special ceremony and all, but can’t you take my warrior name back? I’m just not  _ ready  _ to be a warrior yet.” 

"Most apprentices your age would be ecstatic to be a warrior so early," Hickorystar mewed.

"Well, I'm not! I... I'm not ready to be a warrior, I haven't learned anything. I didn't even get to see where the ShadowClan border was, or a single fighting move, or..." Her head drooped. "I'm not warrior material. Not yet."

“Despite what I’ve told her,” Aspentail remarked wryly.

"I see." Hickorystar sat back on her haunches. "Well, as much as I would like to, I said the words before StarClan, and they heard me. You're Morninglight now, a warrior, whether you like it or not."

"But-"

"And before you think you can get away with doing nothing," Hickorystar mewed, voice suddenly hard and flinty. "I  _ will _ remind you that I won't have any of the other Clans saying I allow untrained kits to become warriors. First, you'll finish getting well. Then, until I say otherwise, and until he's satisfied with your progress, you  _ will _ be training with Aspentail, and you  _ will _ be carrying out apprentice duties when he, I, or Nettlebrush order you to." She thought for a moment. "Though you can choose whether you'd like to sleep in the warriors' den or the apprentices' den. Understood?"

A weight lifted from Morninglight’s chest. So she wouldn’t be expected to act as a warrior at all! The relief was incredible. “Oh, thank you!” she breathed. 

“Think nothing of it. Now, Huddlebrook, may I have a word? Nettlebrush scented that fox on our territory again, and I just want to-” Still meowing to him, she led the medicine cat out of the den, leaving Morninglight and Aspentail alone.

Aspentail sighed happily. “I’m so glad Hickorystar agreed to make you my apprentice.”

Morninglight frowned. “Agreed?”

The roof of the medicine den suddenly became very intriguing to Aspentail. “Er, yes, well. I may have heard Hickorystar mention that she didn’t know who to pick to mentor all of you, and I  _ may  _ have volunteered myself, and I  _ may  _ have repeatedly asked for specifically you…” His ears pinned back. “I’m sorry. Did you want a different mentor?”

A purr rumbled in her throat. “Of course not! I was actually hoping I would get you. Or Robinfrost. Or Foxfall.” 

A visible sigh of relief went through him. “Good to know I was one of your top choices too.”

“But why me?”

Aspentail needed no hesitation here. “Because you’re the best one of your litter, of course. Probably the best one out of the past three litters we’ve had. No offense to your littermates, of course.”

“Oh. Really?”

“Yeah. You’re smart, thoughtful, just the right amount of ambitious. You’re not as rowdy as Daypaw, nor as gossipy as Duskpaw, and not as…” He thought for a moment. “Quiet, as Nightpaw. You’re just all-around great.”

“Oh.” She glanced back at her lack of a tail, and her face fell. “I’m not that great anymore.”

“Oh, sure you are. We’ll just have to work on that. See, what I was thinking was…”

He continued talking, but Morninglight didn't catch much of it. Her eyelids drooped shut almost against her own will, and she yawned again hugely. She fell asleep as Aspentail was discussing how he wanted them to appear at the next Gathering. 


End file.
